Dept. Of Education Fail: Teachers Lose Grants, Forced To Repay Thousands In Loans
March 28, 20185:01 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
CORY TURNER
Twitter
CHRIS ARNOLD
Twitter
The TEACH grant helps teachers-to-be pay for college or a master's. But many teachers, like Maggie Webb (left) and David West, say when they began teaching, they were forced to pay it back.
Kayana Szymczak and Sean Rayford for NPR
America needs teachers committed to working with children who have the fewest advantages in life. So for a decade the federal government has offered grants — worth up to $4,000 a year — to standout college students who agree to teach subjects like math or science at lower-income schools.
But a new government study, obtained by NPR and later posted by the Department of Education, suggests that thousands of teachers had their grants taken away and converted to loans, sometimes for minor errors in paperwork. That's despite the fact they were meeting the program's teaching requirements.
"Without any notice, [my grant] was suddenly a loan, and interest was already accruing on it," says Maggie Webb, who teaches eighth-grade math in Chelsea, Mass. "So, my $4,000 grant was now costing me $5,000."
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/28/596162853/dept-of-education-fail-teachers-lose-grants-forced-to-repay-thousands-in-loans
March 28, 20185:01 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
CORY TURNER
CHRIS ARNOLD
The TEACH grant helps teachers-to-be pay for college or a master's. But many teachers, like Maggie Webb (left) and David West, say when they began teaching, they were forced to pay it back.
Kayana Szymczak and Sean Rayford for NPR
America needs teachers committed to working with children who have the fewest advantages in life. So for a decade the federal government has offered grants — worth up to $4,000 a year — to standout college students who agree to teach subjects like math or science at lower-income schools.
But a new government study, obtained by NPR and later posted by the Department of Education, suggests that thousands of teachers had their grants taken away and converted to loans, sometimes for minor errors in paperwork. That's despite the fact they were meeting the program's teaching requirements.
"Without any notice, [my grant] was suddenly a loan, and interest was already accruing on it," says Maggie Webb, who teaches eighth-grade math in Chelsea, Mass. "So, my $4,000 grant was now costing me $5,000."
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/28/596162853/dept-of-education-fail-teachers-lose-grants-forced-to-repay-thousands-in-loans
