Federal TEACH Grant Program

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program 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. If, after reading all of the information provided regarding this grant, you are interested in learning more about the TEACH Grant Program, you should contact Kristy O’Kief, Director of Financial Aid.

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
Department of Education federal requirements:

• 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).
• Complete TEACH Grant counseling each year

Dakota Wesleyan University requirements for undergraduates:

• Must be at least in second year of education major

High-Need Field
High-need fields are the specific areas identified below:

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education

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 to 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. To access the Directory, please go to www.tcli.ed.gov 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 that will be available electronically on a Department of Education website. 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.

Teach Grant Eligible Programs at Dakota Wesleyan University
Undergraduate:

• 7-12 Mathematics Education
• 7-12 Science–Biology Education
• K-12 Special Education
• 5-8 Middle Level Education–Mathematics
• 5-8 Middle Level Education–Natural Science

Master of Arts – Education

• Curriculum and Instruction
• Secondary Certification and Degree

Applying for the Federal TEACH Grant

• Step 1- Review the information above so you understand the Federal TEACH Grant program and to see if you meet the criteria for applying for this federal grant.
   
• Step 2- If you meet the TEACH Grant criteria and wish to apply for the TEACH Grant, please complete the TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling and Agreement to Serve; required to complete each year before receiving this grant.
   
• Step 3- Set up an appointment with Kristy O’Kief, Director of Financial Aid for additional information and counseling on TEACH Grant. This must be completed before you will be approved to receive this grant at DWU.