Fraternities and Sororities in North America - High School Fraternities and Sororities

High school fraternities and sororities (or secondary fraternities and sororities), are social organizations for high school-aged students.

Torch and Dagger (later Omega Eta Tau) was the first such organization and was established in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1859. The movement more generally developed in the 1870s with Gamma Sigma, Alpha Zeta and Alpha Phi, all closely modeled on college fraternities in their areas. Some of these early groups were discussed in the early editions of Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities under the heading "Academic Societies". In 1913, American Secondary School Fraternities by J. Ward Brown, provided a detailed history of these organizations. By that time there were at least 57 national fraternities and 21 national sororities. Some like Gamma Delta Psi, Gamma Eta Kappa, Delta Sigma, Delta Sigma Nu, Lambda Sigma, Sigma Phi Upsilon and Phi Sigma Chi were spread broadly across the entire country, but most were regional in nature given the difficulty for high school students to travel. Typical of those that survive are Phi Kappa, limited to around 50 chapters in the deep south (with five still active) and Omega Gamma Delta with more than 100 chapters in the northeast (two still active) and a couple of chapters further afield. In addition there were an enormous number of local fraternities scattered around the country.

Another 15 nationals were founded after this period including several that still exist. But starting around 1910, a strong anti-fraternity movement among high school administrators took a heavy toll on such organizations in many parts of the country. A reduced level of interest by high school students themselves since 1970, has brought the number down even further.

The largest such organizations are Aleph Zadik Aleph with around 250 chapters and Sigma Alpha Rho with more than 100. Both of these have the advantage of being sponsored by Jewish community groups and are more than simple fraternities. Beyond that, Gamma Eta Kappa, Delta Sigma, Phi Lambda Epsilon and Theta Phi all had more than 75 chapters over the years, with Omega Gamma Delta and Phi Sigma Kappa having more than 100 each.

Several nationals also had chapters in Canada and, in recent years, a whole class of similar fraternities has emerged in the Philippines, many of them outgrowths of sponsoring college organizations.

The fraternity tradition still has pockets of interest. Beyond Aleph Zadik Aleph, Sigma Alpha Rho (SAR), Omega Gamma Delta and Phi Kappa, there are similar groups such as the Order of DeMolay sponsored by the Masons. Alpha Omega Theta of New York still exists, though not in high schools, ΕΣAΔΕ is in Barcelona, The Lounge operates in Saginaw, Michigan; Phi Eta Sigma and Zeta Mu Gamma are located in Puerto Rico; Sigma Nu Xi is on the mainland United States. Sigma Delta Chi is an active sorority that was established in Alabama and continues today with several different chapters throughout Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Although these are analogous societies, they are considered wholly different and unrelated societies. The Sub Deb Club, also known as "Sigma Delta Chi" was chartered in Athens, Alabama, in 1965, as a service and social sorority for young ladies who are students at Athens High School; Sub Deb Clubs or local chapters can be found in neighboring towns such as Decatur, Hunstville, Florence, Sheffield, Russellville, and Pulaski, Tennessee. Theta Phi Delta was the second high school sorority founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1996 and was incorporated in 2004. Fox Theta Delta, is a Philippines fraternity, founded in Butuan City in 1977, and claiming a somewhat tenuous connection with an American organization in Michigan.