Trinity International University is participating in the TEACH Grant program for the 2009-2010 Academic Year.
Participation in the TEACH grant program is limited to students who are being prepared at Trinity to be highly qualified teachers in High-Need fields, as designated by the Department of Education. The Financial Aid Office, in conjunction with the TIU School of Education, have determined that Trinity College, Trinity Graduate School and REACH students who are declared majors in the following undergraduate and graduate TIU programs may qualify for TEACH grant participation:
Math secondary education
Biology secondary education
Elementary Education: Elementary Education majors will qualify ONLY if the student spends more than half of his time teaching in the designated high need fields of mathematics, science, foreign language, bilingual education, English language acquisition, special education, reading specialist OR if elementary education is listed as a teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) on the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. To access the listing, please go to www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.
WHAT IS THE TEACH GRANT?
Through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.
Conditions:
In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.
IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed.
Student Eligibility Requirements
To receive a TEACH Grant you must meet the following criteria:
• 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 as an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary educational institution that has chosen to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.
• Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Such coursework may include subject area courses (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher).
• Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (see below for more information on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve).
• Be qualified to teach in a High-Need Field, as identified below:
o Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
o Foreign Language
o Mathematics
o Reading Specialist
o Science
o Special Education
o Other identified teacher shortage areas as of the time you begin teaching in that field. These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. To access the listing, please go www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.pdf
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. To access the Directory, please go to: www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp and click on the SEARCH button.
Teach Grant Agreement to Serve
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve : https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve 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 disbursed.
Specifically, the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve will require the following:
• For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant.
• You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher at a low-income school. 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.
• Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.
• You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary.
• If you do not complete the required teaching service obligation, TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
If you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required teaching service, as explained above, you will be required to repay the grants as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement. Additional Information you need to know before you get a TEACH grant: https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/images/gen/factsheet.pdf
How to apply for the TEACH Grant at TIU
• Be a declared major in secondary education biology, secondary education math or elementary education, planning to teach in a teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Listing. To access the listing, please go to www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc
• Complete the 2009-2010 FAFSA: www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Complete the TIU TEACH Grant APPLICATION FORM and return it to the TIU Financial Aid Office (pdf)
• Complete TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling: https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
• Complete the annual TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve: https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action
• Upon completion of the steps above, the TIU Financial Aid Office will review your TEACH Grant application and notify you of your eligibility to receive a TEACH grant for the 2009-2010 academic year.
