The Trouble With TEACH Grants In a series of reports, NPR investigates how federal grants that public school teachers received to work in low-income schools were converted to loans that they now must pay back.
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The Trouble With TEACH Grants
Kaitlyn McCollum, pictured here in 2018, was teaching high school in Tennessee when her federal TEACH Grants were turned into more than $20,000 in loans. Stacy Kranitz for NPR hide caption
Libsack says she's now feeling "hopeful" because her government finally listened. "For me, as a teacher, it's awesome," she says, "because then I can convey that to the students and say, 'Hey, you do have a voice. You are citizens. You do have a role in our government.' " Beth Nakamura for NPR hide caption
Senators To DeVos On TEACH Grant Debacle: 'Urgent That These Mistakes Are Fixed'
Education Secretary DeVos Acknowledges Problems With Teacher Grant Program
Kaitlyn McCollum teaches at Columbia Central High School in Tennessee. After being told her TEACH grant paperwork was late, her grants were converted to loans. "I'm on the phone in between classes ... trying to get all of this information together, crying, trying to plead my case," she says. Stacy Kranitz for NPR hide caption
Education Department Launches 'Top-To-Bottom' Review Of Teachers' Grant Program
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 hide caption