CHAPTERS & CLUBS

Built to run itself. Watched from above.

Every EFF chapter and club runs on its own campus, on its own schedule, led by the people already there — a teacher, an advisor, students. Nationals doesn't run your chapter. Nationals makes sure every chapter is run right.

How it worksStart one in high schoolMiddle schoolElementary
THE MODEL

The materials do the teaching. The advisor holds the room. Students do the leading.

A chapter needs no curriculum writer, no slides built at midnight, no outside staff. Every session comes as a finished kit — a link, a room code, printables, and something each student takes home. The adult opens the room and keeps it safe. In high school, the students run it.

STRONG OVERSIGHT FROM NATIONALS

Independent on campus. Accountable to nationals.

EFF National sets the standard, approves every chapter, trains every advisor, screens every volunteer, supplies every kit, and reads every report. A chapter that meets the standard runs free. A chapter that doesn't gets a call, then probation, then a suspension. Nothing under the EFF name happens without a charter.

Nationals decides
  • Who becomes a chapter (charter approval)
  • What is taught (kits and workshops)
  • Who may work with minors (Checkr + training)
  • Standing: Provisional → Active → Probation → Suspended
Nationals watches
  • School approval letter on file, every year
  • Advisor training current
  • Consent-form counts before activity
  • Semester reports: meetings, attendance, events, funds
  • Incident notifications (that a report was made)
Nationals never does
  • Run your meetings
  • Hold your money
  • Contact minors directly
  • Override the school's own rules where they're stricter
1
EFF National · K–12 Program LeadCharters, standards, kits, training, screening, reports, standing. The final word on anything under the EFF name.
2
Regional / state coordinatorAs chapters grow: the person who knows every advisor in a region, visits, and escalates to nationals. [Added at 10+ chapters in a state.]
3
The schoolApproves the club, the advisor, every event and fundraiser; its rules govern on its campus. Withdraws approval at any time.
4
The advisor / site leadPresent at everything. Sole financial signatory. Sole channel to students. Routes safeguarding through the school the same day.
5
StudentsHigh school: an executive board that leads. Middle: a crew with real jobs. Elementary: members who make things and take them home.
HOW TO START ONE · HIGH SCHOOL

The EFF Chapter.

Student-ledAdvisor-supervisedExecutive boardPeers onlyGrades 9–12

Picture it. A 10th grader who found out last week that her cousin lost a scholarship over a form nobody explained. She walks into her English teacher's room after class and says: "I want to start something so that doesn't happen here." Six weeks later, that teacher is her advisor, the principal's letter is on file, four officers have been elected, and thirty students are in a classroom on Thursday afternoons learning what a FAFSA is before they need one.

Week 1 — AskA student, teacher, counselor, or administrator fills out the chapter interest form. No student information beyond a name and school email.
Week 1–2 — The callEFF National calls (15 minutes) and sends the Chapter Charter & Handbook. If a student applied, the call includes the teacher they've asked to be advisor.
Week 2–4 — Advisor and approvalThe principal confirms a current school employee as advisor and the school runs its own club process. The school sends EFF an approval letter on letterhead. Now the chapter is Provisional.
Week 4 — Advisor trainedTwo hours. Safety, what a session is, what we never do, money, reporting. The advisor signs the Advisor Agreement.
Week 4–5 — Charter and consentAdvisor, principal, and founding student sign the charter. Every member's parent signs a consent form that spells out exactly what students will be exposed to. Media release offered separately, optional.
Week 5–6 — Elect the boardPresident, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer (no signing power), Director of Service, Director of College Access, Director of Communications, and an optional Director of Ministry. No GPA requirement unless the school has one. Officers complete Student Leader Training.
Week 6 — ActiveEFF National reviews the packet and activates the chapter. Kits unlock. First official meeting.
Every meeting on campus. Advisor present start to finish, or it doesn't happen.
Every event school-approved. Service off campus only as a school-sanctioned activity, advisor there.
No chapter money outside the school. Funds live in the school activity account; advisor signs; students never carry cash alone.
Peers only. High-school leaders lead students at their own school. Younger kids are served by screened adults.
Start a high school chapterRead the Charter & Handbook
02
HOW TO START ONE · MIDDLE SCHOOL

The EFF Crew.

Adult-ledStudent crew rolesGrades 6–8The placement year

Picture it. A counselor watches the same thing every spring: 8th-grade math placements go out, and families find out in 9th grade what got decided. She starts an EFF Crew. Twenty students, Tuesday lunch. By March every one of them can explain what their placement opens or closes, has asked her the question in person, and has walked a parent through the answer at the kitchen table.

Week 1 — AskA teacher, counselor, or administrator fills out the club interest form. (Middle-school students can ask a teacher to start one; the adult applies.)
Week 1–2 — The callEFF National walks the adult through the Crew model: adult-led, on campus, students hold real jobs but the adult runs the club.
Week 2–3 — ApprovalThe principal approves the club and the adult leader (a current school employee). Approval letter to EFF. Provisional.
Week 3 — Leader trainedSame two-hour training as a high-school advisor, plus the middle-school kit walkthrough.
Week 3–4 — ConsentParent consent for every member; the form names the material: the road after high school, math placement, prerequisites, speaking up, résumés, service. Media release separate and optional.
Week 4 — Crew rolesNot officers — jobs. Crew Captain (welcomes, starts the timer), Recorder (attendance), Service Scout (finds the project), Word Keeper (adds a college word to the wall each week), Tech (runs the kit link). Roles rotate each semester so everyone leads.
Week 4–5 — ActiveEFF reviews and activates. Kits unlock. Crew meets weekly or biweekly at lunch, advisory, or after school.
Adults lead. Students hold jobs, never authority over other students.
On campus, adult present, same as high school. Service projects are school-sanctioned.
No funds. Middle-school crews don't fundraise. Costs are covered by the school, a Bridge Partner through the school, or EFF-supplied kits.
The placement mission is mandatory. Every crew runs it before 8th-grade placements go out.
Start a middle school crew
HOW TO START ONE · ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Future Graduate Club.

Teacher-ledMembers make thingsGrades K–5Artifacts go home

Picture it. A 3rd-grade teacher in a Title I school runs the club during the after-school block. Twenty minutes. This week: "Who helps with what." Every kid leaves with a map of their school's helpers in their backpack, and one question they wrote down to ask a grown-up. On Friday, a boy who never raises his hand asks the counselor his question. The counselor tells the teacher. That's the whole point.

Week 1 — AskA teacher or administrator fills out the club interest form. Elementary clubs are always started by an adult.
Week 1 — The callEFF sends the one-pager, the safety note, and the first two kits so the teacher can see exactly what a session is.
Week 1–2 — Principal sign-offBecause the teacher is already a vetted school employee and no outside adults are involved, this is usually a conversation and a signature. Approval letter to EFF. Provisional.
Week 2 — Site Lead trainedOne hour, online. What a session is, what goes home, what to notice, how to route.
Week 2 — ConsentParent consent form home in the backpack, in English and Spanish where needed, naming the material: helpers, first résumé cards, big dreams, reading, asking for help. Media release separate and optional.
Week 3 — ActiveFirst session. Eight sessions, then the teacher's two-page report goes to nationals — and becomes the thing that opens the next school.
No student roles. Members make things; the teacher leads. A "helper of the week" is the most a K–5 club assigns.
One adult, already vetted. Any additional adult — parent volunteer, college mentor — goes through Checkr and the school's clearance first.
No funds. Kits are supplied. Nothing is collected from families.
Every session ends in the backpack. A card, a map, a question. That's how families join without attending.
Start an elementary club
SIDE BY SIDE

Three shapes, one standard.

High school · ChapterMiddle · CrewElementary · Club
Who starts itStudent, teacher, staff, or adminTeacher, counselor, or adminTeacher or admin
Who leadsStudent executive boardAdult leader; students hold crew jobsTeacher (Site Lead)
Adult requiredSchool-employee advisor at everythingSchool-employee leader at everythingTeacher at everything
School approval letterYes, on letterhead, yearlyYes, yearlyYes, yearly
Parent consentEvery member, yearlyEvery member, yearlyEvery member, yearly
Media releaseSeparate, optional, never a condition of membership
MeetingsOn school grounds only, school-approved times, adult present start to finish
Service / eventsSchool-sanctioned; advisor presentSchool-sanctioned; leader presentOn campus only
MoneySchool activity account; advisor signs; students never hold cashNoneNone
GPA requirementNone from EFF; the school's own club rules apply
Reports to nationalsSemester reportSemester reportEight-session report
Time to ActiveAbout 6 weeksAbout 4–5 weeksAbout 3 weeks

Each school's internal club-approval process is different; the timelines above are typical, not promised. Where a school's rules are stricter than EFF's, the school's rules apply. Items in the Charter & Handbook marked "EFF to confirm" are being finalized with counsel.

Start one where you already are.

You don't need permission from nationals to begin. You need a school that says yes, an adult who'll be in the room, and parents who know. Nationals will take it from there.

Chapter or club interest formOpen Student ToolsVolunteer pathways