TEACH Grants are awarded to eligible students who enroll in coursework necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. AT ABU the junior year is when a student will be eligible to apply for the TEACH Grant. Awards provide up to $4,000 per year ($16,000 total for four-year programs) in grants to students who intend to teach full-time in high-need subject areas for at least four years at schools that serve students from low-income families.
IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE THE FOUR-YEAR TEACHING OBLIGATION YOU WILL HAVE TO REPAY THE GRANT WITH INTEREST!
Student Eligibility Requirements
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the year you are applying, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need. www.studentaid.gov (ABU School Code 014305.)
- Complete the TEACH Grant Request Form and submit to the financial aid office, who will verify the program with the Registrar’s office for certification that you are taking coursework in an eligible program.
- 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) - SAT, ACT, or GRE, 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 TEACH Grant counseling
- Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay each year with the U.S. Department of Education (Agreement must be completed if you are awarded a TEACH Grant)
TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay:
Specifically, the TEACH Grant service agreement 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 will provide that –
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 areafor 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.
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 one of the high-need subject areas. Elementary school teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.
High-Need Subject Areas
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.
Documentation
For each TEACH-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must also provide documentation to the federal Department of Education that you completed your teaching obligation. TEACH Grant recipients must also confirm to the federal Department of Education 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 schools chief administrative officer, upon completion of four academic years of teaching service. This documentation must show that you were a full-time, highly-qualifiedteacher at a school serving low-income students, teaching a high-need subject area for at least four years.
Reminder
Failure to complete the teaching obligation or properly document your teaching service will cause the teach grant to be permanently converted to a loan with interest.
Once a grant is converted to a loan it can’t be converted back to grant!