SHF FAQs

Requirements for starting and maintaining a SHF Charter

• SHF Sponsor must have current AATF membership
• An active SHF Charter must be in place at the school
• Student inductions must be done at least every two (2) years

Additional details can be found HERE

The Société Honoraire de Français (SHF) is the National French Honor Society for high schoolers. The local high school chapter provides a vehicle to focus activities around French language and Francophone literatures and cultures.  In addition, students can acquire leadership skills by serving as officers, directing the initiation ceremony, or leading other chapter events.

The establishment of a charter of the Société Honoarie de Français offers the following benefits to a secondary French program.

• Recognize outstanding scholarship in the study of French
• Official SHF Seal placement on graduate diploma
• Opportunity for tri-color honor cord or SHF stole to be worn at graduation
• Official SHF regalia (drinkware, clothing, etc.) to honor accomplishments

To meet the basic requirements to be eligible to join the SHF, the student must:

1. Be enrolled in at least their fourth semester of French (e.g.: the second semester of French II or the equivalent).
2. Be in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade (or a 9th grader who has met criteria 1 above in Jr High School or Middle School).
3. Have earned at least an A minus (or the equivalent) in French for the previous three consecutive semesters.

These requirements must be the base line for any local SHF Constitution.

Local Société Honoraire de Français charters are able to exceed these requirements but not lower the requirements for SHF membership.

Induction Interest

• The way to determine student interest in induction is up to the SHF Sponsor. Some sponsors send around a list for students to sign up on if they are interested, confirm the grade requirements are met, and issue an invitation for induction. Some sponsors chose to have students fill out an application for SHF Induction. This can be done electronically or traditionally. Some applications must include letters of reference, short essays, etc.

Induction Ceremony

• There is no set wording or induction ceremony that must happen for student inductions. Some sponsors have shared what they have found works for their ceremony (click on the Sample Induction Ceremony Scripts accordion below).

SHF Meetings

• Each SHF Charter can run as best suits the school and SHF Sponsor. Some sponsors find they do not have time for an abundance of meetings because of other life commitments, and only meet with the SHF occasionally. Other sponsors have monthly meetings for SHF members to attend. There are no set meeting requirements outlined in the National SHF Constitution.

SHF Student Officers

• Officers are not required for an SHF Charter to operate. If you would like to have student SHF Officers, you are able to have elections or appoint student officers as you see fit.

In order to ensure that members receive their merchandise in a timely fashion, a third party called the AATF Boutique handles all ordering/invoicing/fulfillment of SHF graduation regalia. More information on how to order and where can be found here

The American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) is the only national association devoted exclusively to the needs of French teachers at all levels. Our community of French educators at all levels works to promote and defend French programs, create and disseminate useful materials for the classroom, and provide opportunities to recognize professional excellence and student achievement. The AATF sponsors the National French Contest, Société Honoraire de Français, Jeunes Amis du Français, and National French Week and publish the French Review and the National Bulletin.

The AATF-Boutique is a third party organization (National Awards) who handles all orders and order fulfillment of items found on their site here.

The majority of SHF materials (apparel, graduation regalia, etc.) are processed by the AATF-Boutique.

**The purchase of any item in the AATF-Boutique is optional**

In 2022, the SHF/JAF National Council recognized the need for a better option to support the growing needs of SHF sponsors.

It was decided to contract with the AATF-Boutique (run by National Awards) for the fulfillment of SHF merchandise, graduation regalia, and a variety of other products.

This allows for a wider selection of items with which to honor the student members of the SHF Charters. The better pricing for these items and the faster turn around time for order fulfillment were also considered to be beneficial to the AATF members.

The AATF-Boutique is run by a third party vendor (National Awards).

The AATF office does not have access to any invoicing, fulfillment system information, or password reset information for the AATF-Boutique. 

For specific questions about your order, please call 1-800-748-8663 or e-mail aatf@aatf-boutique.com.

• SHF Induction Fees are $4 per student and come with official SHF membership.
• SHF Induction Fees are the minimum that needs to be paid for each student.
• SHF Induction Fee orders will be manually processed to verify school SHF Charter status and ensure proper recording of student names.
• Once SHF Induction Fee order have been processed, a certificate template will be emailed to the SHF sponsor.

SHF Induction Fees must be paid through the AATF website.

Payment options available

• invoice
• credit card
• ACH

Once the order has been processed, a certificate template will be emailed to the SHF sponsor.

 Click here to purchase inductions 

***Please note users must be current AATF members and logged into the AATF website to purchase SHF Inductions***

Due to the high volume of orders during peak SHF Induction times, order processing can take as long as 5 business days.

All orders must be manually processed to ensure compliance with our order guidelines:

• SHF Charter status confirmed 
• SHF Sponsor name confirmed
• Ensure proper recording of student names for AATF/SHF records
• Any discrepancies addressed and updated

AATF does not share the list of student names who have been previously inducted because of privacy and safety concerns. 

The SHF Secretary is able to confirm membership on specific students as requested by the SHF sponsor.

To ensure proper recording of the student on the records of SHF and grant official SHF membership.

The SHF Induction Fee of $4 per student is for official SHF membership. Student names are recorded when orders are processed.

A certificate template is emailed to the SHF sponsor upon processing completion of the SHF Induction Fee order.

SHF Induction Fee products can be accessed HERE. (Please note users must be logged into their AATF account to view/purchase SHF Induction Fees). These certificates are available to be personalized and printed, at your school or local print shop, for students whose induction fees were included in the paid order. Certificates look nice when printed in color on a heavier paper like card stock.

If physical certificates are desired, click HERE for information on the AATF-Boutique.

According to the National SHF Constitution: The fee for student membership in the Société Honoraire de Français is payable at the time of induction. This fee is payable once, and the inductee remains a member of the Société Honoraire de Français as long as he/she is a secondary school student in good standing. 

Some schools elect to have students be re-inducted each year according to their local SHF Constitution.

In an effort to support the local SHF Constitutions of different schools, the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th year induction fees are available.

The following must happen for an SHF Charter to remain active:

• SHF Sponsors must have current AATF membership
• SHF Charters must induct at least one (1) student every 2 years
• The SHF sponsors are encouraged to fill out an Annual Report every year.

Not sure if your chapter is active? Check the Active SHF Chapter Directory Here

If there is an inactive charter at the school, an SHF Charter Application must be submitted and a $10 fee needs to be paid to reactivate the charter.

• SHF Charters Reactiviations can be purchased online using credit card, purchase order, or check:    Here via our online store  
• If you wish to pay via PO or check, please order through the store and select "invoice" at purchase.
• The invoice can be used to generate POs or cut a check.
• Please mail payment to 7333 W Jefferson Ave, Suite 270 Lakewood, CO 80235