This is a website for the Iota Alpha Chapter of the Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society. This chapter serves homeschooled high school students primarily in Collin & Dallas counties, Texas; however, as long as members can make meetings, there are no geographical restrictions for membership. Members are not required to be members of any homeschool support groups or co-ops.
About:
Eta Sigma Alpha (ESA) is a student-run organization whose purpose is to promote scholarship, develop leadership skills, and provide opportunities for community service and networking with like-minded students who desire to advance the honor society’s purpose.
Eta Sigma Alpha National Homeschool Honor Society has no affiliation or relationship with National Honor Society (NHS), whose chapters are based out of institutional schools and is not open to students who are homeschooled.
History:
Eta Sigma Alpha is the first honor society established exclusively for home school students. It was founded in 1999 by Joanne E. Juren, M. Ed., Executive Director of the Home Education Partnership of Texas. It has grown into an international organization with 125 chapters in 43 states. The national website is: http://www.etasigmaalpha.com/. Their Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/jjuren/
The Iota Alpa Chapter was chartered in August 2003.
Why Join an Honor Society?
Colleges and scholarship committees evaluate achievements such as honor society membership when weighing applicants. Because homeschooled students are not eligible for membership in the National Honor Society, Eta Sigma Alpha provides recognition of academic excellence for homeschooled students.
Eligibility:
Membership is available to 9th – 12th grade students who meet the following academic and application requirements:
- Members must be “homeschooled”, meaning students may not be enrolled in a public/private/charter school, full-time college or other programs where more than 50% of school time is spent in supervision of an institutional school setting. Homeschool co-ops, online classes, tutors, and at–home classes are not considered institutional school settings. Please see more information below about being an ESA member and a dual-credit student.
- Have at least a 3.5 GPA on a four-point scale as shown on the prepared transcript that you provide.
- Applicant must supply a photocopy of minimum test scores from one of the following tests. Minimum test scores for admission are:
- SAT (1200) PSAT (1200) PSAT 8/9/10 (8:1020, 9:1090, 10:1170)
- ACT (26) Pre-ACT 10 (26)
- CLT (88) CLT 8 or 10 (97)
- 90% composite or “total battery” on: IOWA Basic, Stanford, or CAT6/Terra Nova normed standardized achievement
- Per ESA national guidelines, we cannot accept any other standardized test and we cannot accept test scores from a parent-administered test.
- IOWA, Stanford or CAT6/Terra Nova scores must be for the grade the student just completed. An applicant may not submit a test score for a grade level than is lower than the one just completed (i.e., a rising 9th grade applicant may not submit a 7th grade test score).
- Read, sign, and date the application which includes the Code of Conduct and Statement of Understanding. Also, submit dues along with the application.
- Submit recommendations from 3 different individuals (one being a parent) who know the applicant personally.
Eligibility if transferring from another ESA chapter:
We welcome students who became ESA members in another chapter, who are in good standing, and wish to transfer to our chapter. Transferring members need to have their current sponsor email our sponsor (email below) and include: Chapter Greek-Letter name/location, student’s name, year he/she entered the ESA chapter, and indicate that he/she is a member in good standing.
Additionally, the transferring member will need to complete and submit the “Returning Member” paperwork found at the “Forms and Files” link on this website, and include dues of $60 (Additional $5 towards the cost for chapter t-shirt).
Eligibility for those who are in dual-enrollment situations:
- A school week is considered 30 hours (5 days @ 6 hours/day).
- If you are enrolled in classes at a “formal institution”, you can only be enrolled for 50% of that 30 hours – 15 hours or less.
- So if you are taking 16 or more hours at Collin, you can no longer be an ESA member.
- all homeschool co-ops
- outside tutors
- online classes (unless they are through a Community College)
- enrollment in high school distance-learning programs or homeschool umbrella programs (both accredited and unaccredited)
- coursework that is taught at home by a parent.
Cost:
New member dues are $60; returning members are $55 per year. The additional fee for new members covers a portion of the cost of a chapter t-shirt that a new member receives.
Commitments:
Members are expected to attend meetings and complete service hours. We offer a group service project each semester that, while not required, is highly encouraged. Double hours are given for participation in these service opportunities. A few social opportunities outside of meeting times are arranged for members; attendance is not mandatory, but those who attend always enjoy themselves!
Service Hours: All members are required to annually complete 25 volunteer service hours by mid-April; 15 of these may be performed during the previous summer. If a member has completed 22 service hours by the January meeting, he/she can submit their log at that time and will be given 3 bonus hours.
Members must submit service hour logs which can be found here: “ESA Service Hour Log”
Service hours MUST be signed off by an adult associated with the service being done and may NOT be signed off by parents. Logs will not be accepted without signatures. If there is an issue with obtaining an appropriate signature, please contact your designated Service Chair.
Meetings: Attendance at the majority of meetings is expected. We meet six times year, September-November/January-March. The September meeting is the third Friday, the October meeting is a group service project in the area (on Friday), and the November/January-March meetings are on first Fridays. All regular meetings are held at the Allen Public Library from 12:30-1:45.
To remain a member in good standing, the majority of meetings must be attended without an unexcused absence and service hours must be completed by mid-April.
Student-led:
Our ESA chapter is student-led and operated. We have six officer positions, including a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Social Chair and two Service Chairs. Officers are elected by the membership at our March meeting and term-of-office is for the following school year. Specific officer responsibilities can be found at the “Forms and Files” link.
The only requirements to run for office are that the student has been a member of ESA for at least a semester and is currently in good standing (in terms of meeting attendance, conduct, and service hour requirements). Members may run for more than one position, but only serve in one. Officers receive 5 hours of Service Hour Credit for the time they give to the chapter.
Adult sponsor:
While our chapter is student-led and operated, ESA chapters are required to have two adult sponsors. For questions regarding our chapter including questions about applying, please contact Melanie Hébert at alandmel@the-hebert-family.com. Please contact Joy Truitt at jtruit@aol.com for questions regarding the website or about the national organization.
Other Homeschool Honor Societies:
There are a few other Honor Societies that are open to Homeschooled high school students:
Mu Eta Sigma, National Honor Math Honor Society for the Homeschool Community: https://www.mathhonorsociety.com/
National Homeschool Science Honor Society: http://nhsshs.org/
Science National Honor Society: https://www.sciencenhs.org/ (This society is open to all students, including homeschool students. They are not affiliated with NHS – National Honor Society – but do maintain a “professional and cordial relationship” with them)
~ Welcome to Iota Alpha ~ 