California Junior Scholarship Federation
History of CJSF
California Junior Scholarship Federation (CJSF) is a state-wide scholarship organization for outstanding middle and junior high school students. CJSF is part of a long tradition that began as the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) for high school students. Mr. Charles F. Seymour proposed the idea at a convention of high school principals in Oakland in 1916, after establishing a scholarship society on his own campus at National City High School in San Diego county. He modeled his society after one that was already established at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Mr. Seymour worked for the next five years to win support for his idea. Finally, in 1921, the principals' convention adopted the idea. Currently, there are over 1000 chapters of the CSF.
The purpose of the CSF is to foster high standards of scholarship and citizenship on the part of students. In 1967, these ideals were extended to middle and junior high school students through the California Junior Scholarship Federation (CJSF). There are currently over 800 chapters of CJSF. Here at Stanford, members of our chapter of CJSF can keep with tradition by accepting the opportunity to offer at least 5 hours of service to the school or community each semester. Students who attain membership for at least three of the four semesters of their 7th and 8th grade years (6th graders are not eligible for CJSF) are considered Honor Members. Honor membership affords the student special privileges when entering CSF in high school. In addition, these students receive an Honor Member certificate, as well as an honor cord and recognition at the promotion ceremony.
