If you plan to attend college in the pursuit of a degree in education, you could not have picked a better time. With baby boomer's heading for retirement, the need for qualified teachers is increasing every year. In response to this, the Federal Government has come up with some grants in order to help fill the roles of teachers who are leaving as well as the roles of teachers in specific areas. The project funded through the Federal Government is handled by an entity called project TEACH. TEACH has been the facilitator of grants and scholarships in the area of education ranging from daycares through high school educators for many years. They due a stupendous job and are quite easy to work with.
During the school year of 2008-2009 a new grant was made available. You may have noticed when filling out your FAFSA that there was anew section which asked the question "Do you plan to pursue a degree in education?" . The reason for this is because there is a new grant that provides up to $4000 per academic year for those that wish to specialize in certain areas of education.
The idea is that there are specific areas of education that are in dire need of teachers. This is the Federal Government's way of filling the gaps in these areas. The qualifications for receiving such grants are listed below.
- Student enrolled in a qualified program will sign a contract with TEACH. In this contract, the student will be obligated to teach in specified area for four academic years within an eight year time period. If said requirement is not met, the grant will be converted to a student loan which the student will be required to pay back.
- Qualified programs are those that fill roles of high needs positions. Some of those positions are listed later in this article. Be sure to check with the Department of Education or project TEACH for specific high needs areas in your geographic location.
Keep in mind that this particular program is designed to fill the gaps that currently exist in the Educational realm as well as those that are expected to exist in the future. Below are some of the areas that qualify for this specific grant.
This list is not all inclusive and may vary by area. Be sure to check to see what the needs of your area are.