 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2023) |
High school fraternities and sororities, also called secondary fraternities and sororities, were inspired by and modeled after Greek-letter organizations which became prevalent in North American colleges and universities during the nineteenth century (Owen 492). In some respects, these fraternities and sororities are designed to better prepare individuals for college-level fraternities.
Most of the American secondary fraternities that were successful in the twentieth century had national governing bodies, produced regular publications, and convened in regular (often annual) national conventions. Like their college counterparts, most have Greek letter names. They also each possessed a secret ritual and handshake and a Greek-letter name which, like college fraternities was usually derived from the abbreviation of a secret Greek motto. These groups were identified by a coat-of-arms and members wore distinctive fraternity badges or pins.
Although there were countless local high school fraternities and sororities with only one or two chapters, many secondary fraternities founded in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States grew into national organizations with a highly evolved governing structure and regularly chartered chapters in multiple regions. Many of the local chapters of these national fraternities were not affiliated with individual high schools but were instead area-based, often drawing membership from multiple high schools in a given area.
In the 1900s, some state governments banned fraternities and sororities in public schools, driving them underground, or out of existence. California, for example, passed a law banning them in 1906.
In the following list, known active groups are indicated in bold, while known inactive groups are in italics.