HOMESCHOOL IOWA
HONOR SOCIETY

HOMESCHOOL IOWA HONOR SOCIETY
Psi Gamma Chapter

Eta Sigma Alpha
National Home School Honor Society

Requirements for Membership:

Must be a member of a family with a current Homeschool Iowa membership
Must be a high school junior or senior
Must submit qualifying test score
(see details below)
Must provide a written recommendation
from a pastor or elder of a church
Must provide a record of community service
(2025/26 applicants will be required to document at least 20 hours in the school year, with a minimum of 2 hours with Homeschool Iowa)
Must pay $25 per school year membership fee,
which provides membership in our Iowa chapter and in the national chapter

Submitted tests scores must be dated within 12 months of application.
Testing completed at home may not be completed under the supervision of a parent or guardian. An adult test supervisor may administer the test in the student's home, provided the parent is not in the room where the test is administered. Students may be tested at another person’s home or business. This rule applies to both paper tests and online testing.
When submitting an application for ESA admission, include a signed statement from the test supervisor.
This statement must attest to the facts that the student received no help from anyone during the test and that the student accessed no “outside materials” during the test time.
The statement must list the location where the test was administered, the date the test was administered, and the test administer's name and his/her relationship to the student.

IMPORTANT DEADLINE

Seniors must submit application by
OCTOBER 31
of their senior year.

APPLICATION & RENEWAL

Honor Society Application and Renewal

Information About Eta Sigma Alpha

Mission Statement

"The purpose of Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society shall be to recognize and encourage scholarship among home school students.
To achieve this purpose, Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society shall provide opportunities for the development of leadership and service.
Eta Sigma Alpha shall encourage the development of an intellectual climate that will stimulate the exchange of ideas and ideals, foster scholarship, and promote academic excellence.
Eta Sigma Alpha shall also advocate homeschooling as a viable and successful educational methodology and act as a liaison for home schooling to the general public, colleges/universities, and the media."

History

Eta Sigma Alpha is the first honor society established exclusively for home schooled students. Founded in 1999 by Joanne E. Juren, M.Ed., Executive Director of the Home Education Partnership of Texas, it has grown into a national organization.
As a former public school administrator, Juren contacted the National Honor Society with the intent of forming a homeschool chapter for her sons and others in a local support group in 1997.
When told that NHS did not accept homeschool students, Juren decided to start a new honor society for home schoolers.
Over the next two years, the idea for Eta Sigma Alpha was refined and the "Alpha" chapter was started in 1999 through the Home Education Partnership of Texas.

Eta Sigma Alpha
History of the name

Eta, the Greek letter that is shaped like an “h”
and Sigma, the letter for “s” were chosen,
along with Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet.
Thus Eta Sigma Alpha means the “first home school” honor society.

Eta Sigma Alpha website