Financial Support for Current and Future Teachers
The TEACH Grant was instituted by the Department of Education on July 1, 2008 to encourage highly qualified teachers to serve low income schools in high-need subject areas. There are several requirements which are necessary to qualify for the Grant, as well as a number of requirements which must be fulfilled in order to keep the Grant. Students who do not meet the requirements to keep the Grant will have those funds converted to an unsubsidized loan with interest added to the loan based on the date of the Grant originally credited to the student's account. Review this TEACH Grant flow chart [pdf] to determine if the TEACH Grant is right for you.
Funding for qualified TEACH Grant applicants
Undergraduate students may receive a maximum of $16,000 towards undergraduate studies.
Graduate students may receive a maximum of $8,000 towards graduate studies.
TEACH Grant amounts will be prorated as follows:
- Full-time enrollment = $3,716 per year divided by the number of semesters enrolled
- Three-quarter time enrollment = $2,787 per year divided by the number of semesters enrolled
- Half-time enrollment = $1,858 per year divided by the number of semesters enrolled
- Less than half-time enrollment = $929 per year divided by the number of semesters enrolled
TEACH Grant eligibility and application requirements
- Candidates for the TEACH Grant must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens.
- Candidates must be in good standing with the Title IV aid programs as reported by the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).
- Candidate must file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) each academic year that he or she would like to be considered for the Grant.
- Candidates must have one of the following qualifications:
A cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) in your most recent academic program prior to enrolling at Lesley University, as well as maintaining a cumulative 3.25 GPA while enrolled in a TEACH Grant eligible program at Lesley University
- OR -
Score above 75th percentile on a national admissions test (i.e. SAT/ACT for undergraduates; GRE for graduate students)
- OR -
Be a current or former teacher or retiree (in any field), enrolled in a TEACH Grant eligible Master's degree program. (Former teachers must be pursuing high-quality alternative certification in a Master's degree program.) If you are a current or former teacher, submit the TEACH Grant Teacher Confirmation Form [pdf] to the Office of Financial Aid. If you are a retiree (in any field), submit the TEACH Grant Retiree Confirmation Form [pdf] to the Office of Financial Aid.
- Candidates must be enrolled in a TEACH Grant eligible academic program. Review Lesley University's list of TEACH Grant eligible programs [pdf].
- Candidates must complete a TEACH Grant Intent Form each academic year. For the current academic year, complete the 2012-2013 TEACH Grant Intent Form [pdf]. (The Intent Form contains a check list that can be used to assist with the application process.) For 2013-2014 please complete the 2013-2014 TEACH Grant Intent Form [pdf].
- Candidates must sign the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (Source: www.lesley.edu) with the U.S. Department of Education each academic year.
- Candidate must complete TEACH Grant Counseling with the U.S. Department of Education each academic year. This counseling is only available electronically and will require your Department of Education issued PIN in order to be completed. This is the same PIN you use to sign the FAFSA. You can retrieve your PIN or set up a new one at www.pin.ed.gov.
Maintaining your TEACH Grant eligibility after graduating from Lesley University
IMPORTANT: TEACH Grant recipients must fulfill ALL requirements set by the U.S. Department of Education or the TEACH Grant will be converted into an interest-bearing Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that will include interest charged from the date the TEACH Grant originally credited to your student account. Once a TEACH Grant is converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a Grant. Please review the following Criteria VERY CAREFULLY:
- TEACH Grant recipients must be a full-time teacher for at least 4 years within 8 calendar years of completing a TEACH Grant eligible academic program.
- TEACH Grant recipients must be deemed highly-qualified by the state in which he/she teachers per the No Child Left Behind Act.
- TEACH Grant recipients must teach in a designated Low-Income School which is defined as a public or private elementary or secondary school that meets the following criteria: The school is in a district of a local educational agency that is eligible for assistance under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or the U.S. Department of Education has determined that more than 30% of the school's total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under Title 1. For a current list of schools designated as low income visit the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.
TEACH Grant recipients must also teach a majority of their classes in High-Need Subject Areas which include:
- Mathematics
- Science
- Reading Specialist
- Special Education
- Foreign Language
- Bilingual Education or English Language Acquisition
- Other teacher shortage areas as identified in the Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing [pdf] at the time a TEACH Grant recipient begins their required 4 years of teaching. Please note that this pdf is a large file that may take a few minutes to download. Also be aware that for elementary school teachers, teaching English as a Second Language, or serving as Reading Specialist, may not meet the full-time teaching requirement in a field of critical need.
- Candidates must complete TEACH Grant Exit Counseling should they choose to withdraw from their program or upon program completion.
- Candidates must confirm with the U.S. Department of Education within 120 days of graduating how they plan to fulfill (or are fulfilling) the TEACH Grant's teaching requirements.
- TEACH Grant recipients must have their school of employment's chief administrative officer submit documentation to the U.S. Department of Education annually confirming the recipient's teaching service. This documentation must show that the TEACH Grant recipient is a full-time, highly-qualified teacher at a designated low-income school, teaching a high-need subject area.
- TEACH Grant recipients must also have their school of employment's chief administrative officer submit documentation to the U.S. Department of Education at the conclusion of the four years of service. This documentation must show that the TEACH Grant recipient was a full-time, highly-qualified teacher at a designated low-income school, teaching a high-need subject area.
- TEACH Grant recipients must comply with any other requirements that the U.S. Department of Education determines to be necessary.
- TEACH Grant recipients must comply with all the requirements above or the TEACH Grant will permanently converted to an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan with interest added based on the date the TEACH Grant first disbursed to the student's billing account.
Additional Notes
- If a TEACH Grant recipient, after graduating from his or her Lesley University degree program, has already begun fulfilling the TEACH Grant requirements in regards to teaching a high-needs subject area in a designated low-income school, and the subject area is later removed from being designated as a high-need subject area, or their school is later removed from being designated as a low income school, the recipient will not be penalized and the Grant will not be converted to a loan.
- Recipients may use the same years of service that meet TEACH Grant requirements to also satisfy the Stafford Loan Forgiveness Program requirements.
- If the TEACH Grant recipient is current teacher, the 4 year service obligation begins AFTER completing or terminating enrollment in the Master's program.
- If at any point a recipient decides not to fulfill the Agreement to Serve, he or she may contact the U.S. Department of Education and request the Grant go ahead and be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. (If your TEACH Grant is converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, it will not count towards your Federal Student Loan aggregate limit.)
- Candidates who receive a TEACH Grant to support their undergraduate education may request an extension of the 8 year deadline to fulfill their service obligation if they choose to pursue an education Master's degree full time. However, if a TEACH Grant recipient receives a TEACH Grant as an undergraduate and again as a graduate student, he or she must complete an additional four years of teaching (a total of eight years) in order to meet the service obligations of the second TEACH Grant.