Financial Aid

TEACH Grant

There are many questions that surround the new Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (“TEACH" Grant) program that was created by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. This new grant program will go into effect for the 2008-2009 academic year. Because this program is in its infancy, new rules and clarifications may result in operational changes. Students affected by the new information will be notified by email.

General Program Requirements

• The grant must be repaid as Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan if student does not fulfill ALL of the requirements of the program. Interest will accrue from date(s) of original disbursement.
• A student can receive up to $4,000 per year for an undergraduate degree($16,000 aggregate for a 4 year program). A graduate student can receive $4,000 per year ($8,000 aggregate total)

School Eligibility:

The Department of Education will need to define which schools are eligible to participate in this program. The Legislation mandates that eligible schools must:

• Provide high quality teacher preparation and professional development services
• Provide pedagogical course work, or assistance in the provision of such coursework
• Provide supervision and support services to teachers.

Student Eligibility Requirements

To receive a TEACH Grant a student must:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
• Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Coursework that will prepare a student to teach in a high-need subject area (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher) is acceptable.
• Meet the following academic achievement requirements
• Score above the 75th percentile on one of the following college admissions test(s) - ACT, GMAT, GRE, MAT or SAT. 

Or

• Graduate from High School with a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale AND maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 throughout your academic program for which you receive a TEACH Grant.

• Complete the Edinboro University Application for TEACH Grant
• Complete a TEACH Grant counseling form that will be developed by the Department of Education. (Select TEACH Grant initial and subsequent counseling)
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay each year with the U.S. Department of Education (This will be available electronically on a Department of Education Web site. We will post the URL when it becomes available).

TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay (service agreement) that will be available electronically on a Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant service agreement specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were first disbursed.

Teaching Obligation

To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant as a loan with interest you must be a highly-qualified , full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years within eight years of finishing the program at a school serving low-income students. Specific definitions of these terms are included below.

Highly-Qualified Teacher

You must perform the teaching service as a "highly-qualified teacher". The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – online at: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0414.html.

Full-Time Teacher

You must meet the state's definition of a full-time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) of your time teaching a one of the high-need subject areas. In order for teaching to count towards meeting the service obligation, the recipient must teach in a designated “high need" field AND at a designated school. These designations can change over time. Elementary school teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

High-Need Subject Areas

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education
• Other teacher shortage areas identified at the time you begin teaching. These are subject areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

Schools Serving Low-Income Students

Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits at https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.

Challenges in teaching in schools serving low income students - Students who do not know anyone who has or who is currently teaching in a school serving low income students should be aware of the challenges facing teachers working in these schools. These are a few random references to help you learn more about what you will be facing if you accept this commitment listed below.

• What Is Teach for America Really Like
• A Teacher Fights for America's Inner City Schools
• Still Separate, Still Unequal: America's Educational Apartheid
• The New Teacher Project
• Inner City Teaching Corps
• Teaching In Inner-City Schools: What's To Be Done
• Inner-City School Teacher Blues
• Inner City Schools: How to Keep the Elite
• Facing the Challenges of Teaching in Inner-City Los Angeles
• Teaching in the Inner City
• Why Teachers Leave and Why They Stay

Documentation

For each TEACH-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must also provide documentation to the Department of Education that you completed your teaching obligation. TEACH Grant recipients must also confirm to the Education Department in writing within 120 days of completing or otherwise ceasing enrollment in the TEACH-eligible program that they are fulfilling (or planning to fulfill) the terms and conditions of the service agreement.

Documentation of the teaching service must be certified by the elementary or secondary school's chief administrative officer, upon completion of four academic years of teaching service. This documentation must show that you were a full-time, highly-qualified teacher at a school serving low-income students, teaching a high-need subject area for at least four years.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

• FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE TEACHING OBLIGATION OR PROPERLY DOCUMENT YOUR TEACHING SERVICE WILL CAUSE THE TEACH GRANT TO BE PERMANENTLY CONVERTED TO AN UNSUBSIDIZED FEDERAL DIRECT STAFFORD LOAN WITH INTEREST. Interest would accrue from the date of the original disbursement.
• ONCE A GRANT IS CONVERTED TO A LOAN IT CAN'T BE CONVERTED BACK TO GRANT!
• For planning purposes, please keep in mind all previous loans taken out at Edinboro University and any other schools that you have attended. TEACH Grant disbursements that are converted to unsubsidized loans would be added to the recipient's current Federal Stafford Loan debt...
• Students must seriously consider the financial impact that converting these grants into loans will have on their future,
• Students experiencing difficulty in repaying their loans should contact the Ombudsman's Office in Federal Student Aid

Other Resources:

• The National Science Teachers Association
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
• American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
• National Education Association

Eligible Programs at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

The following have been identified as programs that would be eligible for the TEACH grant:

Major Code	Program Description
0223	Secondary Ed - Foreign Languages - German
0224	Secondary Ed - Foreign Languages - Spanish
0228	Secondary Ed - Mathematics
0232	Secondary Ed - Biology
0233	Secondary Ed - Chemistry
0226	Secondary Ed - Earth and Space Science
0234	Secondary Ed - General Science
0235	Secondary Ed - Physics
0239	Special Education
0209	Special Education/Elementary Education
0208	Elementary Education/Special Education
8102	TC Special Education
8103	TC El. Ed./Special Ed.
8121	TC Gen. Science
8114	TC German
8115	TC Earth/Sp. Science
8116	TC Mathematics
8119	TC Biology
8120	TC Chemistry
8122	TC Spanish
8123	TC Physics

8705               Reading