The Nationwide organized National Honors Society (N.H.S.) has become one of the leading educational groups. It was founded in 1921 by a principle named Edward Rynearson. The school was called Fifth Avenue High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 1930, over 1,000 chapters had been formed all over the country. Both National Honors Society and National Junior Honors Society are sponsored and organized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Lincoln Lutheran began their National Honors Society chapter in 2008.
Members must demonstrate am excellence of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character in order to be accepted into the N.H.S. Today it is estimated that over one million students are part of a N.H.S. chapters across the country. There are chapters found in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and Canada.