Wayland Post Contributor
Parents were left confused after Wayland High School Principal Allyson Mizoguchi announced in December that the school is considering discontinuing its National Honor Society chapter at the end of this academic year.
Mizoguchi’s announcement included the school’s plan for a WHS specific honor society to replace NHS, citing the national organization’s guidelines as the reason for the discontinuation. However, parents found the announcement vague.
“When I was talking to parents, everybody was just kind of confused about what it all meant,” said Stephanie Frey, who has a freshman and a junior at WHS.
Morgan Grogan, a parent of a sophomore, said that she is concerned the NHS discontinuation might be disadvantageous for students. “If they could apply for it before and can’t have the accolade anymore, that would not be good for them,” she said.
Karen McFarlane, a parent of a freshman and a junior, said she wished the announcement contained details on how the decision was made or the impact it could have on students, particularly those applying to college. “A nationally recognized program is going to be much more familiar to colleges than a high school program,” she said.
Although their children are not members of Wayland’s NHS chapter, both Frey and McFarlane were a part of the organization when they were in high school and think it’s important for college applications.
Despite her confusion, Frey said she trusts the school’s decision.
“I’m sure that there’s some sound reasoning behind it,” she said. “Honestly, I’d like to hear what whoever made this decision has to say.”
Mizoguchi said she felt NHS did not align with the values of Wayland High School and was concerned about inflexible scholarship evaluation, faculty discomfort, and student-faculty relationships.
The National Honor Society mandates a non-anonymous faculty council. Student applications must also be submitted non-anonymously. Additionally, NHS applicants are academically reviewed solely based on the organization’s 3.5 GPA requirement. Members who fall below that face a disciplinary hearing with the faculty council. Mizoguchi said this application process and organization structure create tension among students and faculty. “We worry [it] makes it really difficult for faculty members to be involved while being in a position where their relationships with students might be eroded,” she said.
After hearing community concern about the original plan to discontinue NHS, Mizoguchi is reviewing a final decision. “We’re in the process of balancing all of the needs and questions and desires of our students in weighing that decision at this time,” she said.
While an NHS discontinuation is not final, the potential Wayland-specific honor society will attempt to “maximize fairness and equity” by implementing anonymous student applications, something the national organization did not allow the school to apply in its chapter.
McFarlane said she thinks replacing NHS with a WHS honor society is an indication that the school and the district are “lowering the bar” for students. She pointed to the halt of Wayland Middle School’s overnight field trips and the transition from weighted to unweighted GPAs throughout the district.
“We seem to be removing [programs] under the guise of equity,” McFarlane said. “My student has experienced a much less challenging curriculum than my older student as a result of it.”
If it comes to fruition, the WHS honor society is planned to begin in the spring with the class of 2027.
“We went into this committed to making sure that our current juniors had an opportunity to apply for and potentially be selected for an honor society,” said Mizoguchi, adding that she understands parents’ concerns about removing Wayland’s NHS chapter. “What we’re trying to balance those concerns with is the creation of an experience for kids in an honor society that is exciting, meaningful [and] memorable.”
