Government Grants for Teachers

Although there has always been a need for qualified teachers, it wasn’t until the 1970′s that an awareness grew of just how poorly educated some of our educators truly were.

From that point on the federal government made strides to provide grants and scholarships to better educate teachers so that they would finally be qualified to teach our children.

Over the years there have been a number of government grants for teachers but budget cuts and a national debt crisis have forced many of these grants to be suspended, at least for the time being.

One such grant is the TAH (Teaching American History) Grant which was suspended in 2011 but teachers are invited to check back for availability of funds for future years.

In terms of grants for teachers, there are still a number of privately funded grants for ongoing education while the most popular of the government grants for teachers is the TEACH grant. Some grants for teachers are available to those studying to be teachers while other grants provide funds for advanced studies within a specialized discipline.

Just keep in mind that these grants may change from year to year based on availability of funds. Some grants have been discontinued while others are simply suspended until further funding from Congress is made available. You should check back often if a grant you are interested in is temporarily suspended.

Federal TEACH Grant Program

In 2007 the United States Congress legislated the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which gave way to the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program (TEACH). This grant program enables qualified applicants to receive up to a maximum of $4,000 per school year.

The TEACH grant is conditional in that the recipient must contractually agree to teach full time within an academic setting that is considered to be ‘high need.’

Recipients agree to teach four of the eight years following graduation and teacher certification or they will forfeit all grant money received and it will become due and payable to the federal government.

As with all other federal grants, applicants must complete the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. TEACH applicants must also meet other criteria as outlined on the TEACH web portal.

Private & Corporate Grants within Specialized Disciplines

Within the private sector there are a huge number of grants and fellowships within various disciplines that enable teachers to further their education or participate in advanced research within their respective fields. One of the less publicized private grants is the Toyota Tapestry Grant for Science Teachers.

Since 1991 Toyota Motor Sales, USA in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association has awarded over $9 million to science teacher teams who have demonstrated excellence in education. This grant must be applied for by the director of the project for which the funding is intended.

With all the budget cuts within the federal government, teacher government grants are becoming scarcer as are college grants in general. Because of this, more and more teachers are turning to the private sector for grants to continue working towards their graduate degrees.

However, even though there are currently fewer government grants for teachers who are already certified, there are still sufficient funds through the PELL Grant program for undergrads preparing for a degree in teaching.

The Federal Pell Grant and the FSEOG

Although Pell Grants are not specific teacher government grants, they are available to undergrads who can demonstrate a financial need. In order to apply for the Pell Grant a student must complete the FAFSA, as mentioned above, which is available both online and at the college he or she plans to attend.

Keep in mind that any government grants for teachers will all begin with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, whether the grant is income based or not.

Those prospective teachers who can demonstrate greater financial hardships may also qualify for the FSEOG, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. This particular grant awards anywhere from $100 to $4,000 to qualified applicants and this is separate from the TEACH grant which may also award $4,000.

The point here is that although there may not be an abundance of specific teacher government grants currently, there are federal funds available for teachers who can demonstrate either financial need or excellence within their disciplines.

Teacher Grants with Matching Federal Funds & Loan Forgiveness

There are a number of private foundations or non-profit organizations that provide grants for teachers and the federal government has committed to matching funds, dollar for dollar. Also, many states offer grants for teachers and the federal government will match state funds. Some of the most popular of these funds-matching partnerships include:

• Teacher Incentive Fund
• Teacher Quality Partnership Grants
• Teachers for a Competitive Tomorrow
• Improving Teacher Quality State Grants
• Special Education Personnel Development Grants

Then there are loan forgiveness programs for teachers and although they are not strictly categorized as ‘grants,’ they can deduct percentages off student loans to teachers who meet specific criteria. Both the Federal Stafford Loan Forgiveness for Teachers and the Federal Perkins Loan Forgiveness for Teachers and Head Start Instructors are paid with federal funds.

The Perkins Loan Forgiveness program has a maximum forgiveness of $5,500 for undergrads and $8,000 for grad students which doesn’t need to be paid back and the Stafford Loan Forgiveness has a maximum of $17,500 which will be forgiven for teachers of secondary or special ed science and math.

Since there is a recognized shortage of teachers, especially within the subjects of mathematics and science, government grants for teachers are available if you know where to look.

There are federal government teacher grants and state government teacher grants which have the sole purpose of better preparing today’s educators for the challenges of a career in education.

Both needs based and merit based government grants for teachers are available but remember, unless you submit the FAFSA, no government money will be available to you.