Terms and Conditions

High-Need School Districts

As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at St. John’s University, graduates must teach in a high-need school district as described in the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Solicitation Document NSF 03-544 below:

  1. It has at least one school in which 50 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for participation in the free and reduced price lunch program established by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.1751 et seq.),
  2. It has at least one school in which: (i) more than 34 percent of the academic classroom teachers at the secondary level (across all academic subjects) do not have an undergraduate degree with a major or minor in, or a graduate degree in, the academic field in which they teach the largest percentage of their classes; or (ii) more than 34 percent of the teachers in two of the academic departments do not have an undergraduate degree with a major or minor in, or a graduate degree in, the academic field in which they teach the largest percentage of their classes.
  3.  It has at least one school whose teacher attrition rate has been 15 percent or more over the last three school years.

New York State National School Lunch Program Free and Reduced Price Eligibility Reports 

This report is updated annually for the State of New York. Other states have similar databases for you to find which school districts qualify for you to fulfill the Noyce teaching obligation.

We strongly encourage you to consider teaching in a high-need school; however, while you are not required to teach in a high-need school to fulfill your Noyce obligation, you are required to teach in a high-need school district for two years for every year of scholarship you received. Example: A school district has one school with greater than 50 percent of its students eligible for free and reduced lunch, ABC Secondary School. This qualifies the school district as a high-need district, and you would be able to fulfill your Noyce obligation by teaching in this school district, at any school, not specifically ABC Secondary School. 

Repayment for Failure to Meet Service Obligation

The recipient agrees to repay to St. John’s University the amount of the scholarship if they do not

  1. meet the service obligation or reporting requirements identified above in “Recipient's Retention of Scholarship Assistance for Meeting the Service Obligation,” or
  2. receive a waiver or suspension of this obligation as explained below in “Discharge of a Required Payment.”

If the scholarship recipient does not fulfill their service obligation within six years by teaching for two years in a high-need local educational agency for each year they received scholarship support, the recipient becomes obligated to fully repay the scholarship within six years after their date of graduation from St. John’s University. If the scholarship recipient withdraws from St. John’s University prior to graduation, the recipient becomes obligated to repay the scholarship six months after their withdrawal from St. John’s University.

If upon graduation from St. John’s University, the scholarship recipient teaches in a high-need local educational agency for a period that is less than the period of their service obligation, the recipient becomes responsible for repayment of the percentage of the period for which the service obligation was not fulfilled.

Example: An individual receives a scholarship in the total amount of $20,000 to complete a M.S.Ed in The School of Education at St. John’s University. The individual graduates from St. John’s University and works in a high-need local educational agency for one full school year. The individual then moves and takes a teaching position in a school that is not in a high-need district. If the individual remains in the district that is not high-need, then six years after graduation, the individual has fulfilled one-half of their service obligation and so must immediately repay one-half of the scholarship.

Until the scholarship recipient either satisfies the service obligation or repays the scholarship, the recipient agrees to provide St. John’s University a current home address and telephone number and a current work address and telephone number, as well as other needed identifying information. In addition, the recipient understands that St. John’s University and the high-need local educational agency are, or will be, using the recipient’s Social Security number so that St. John’s University can, if necessary, secure payment of these amounts from the recipient if they fail to meet the service obligation.

Discharge of a Required Repayment

St. John’s University will waive or suspend an obligation to repay the scholarship of a scholarship recipient who has died or who demonstrates to St. John’s University’s satisfaction that, because of permanent physical or mental disability or some other extraordinary circumstance, they are not employable as a teacher. Upon receipt of acceptable documentation and approval of the discharge request, St. John’s University returns to the scholarship recipient, or for a discharge of death, the recipient’s estate, those payments received after the date the eligibility requirements for the discharge were met and prior to the date the discharge was approved. St. John’s University also returns any payments received after the date the discharge was approved.

The National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Commitment

In order to be eligible for the National Science FoundationRobert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce) at St. John’s University’s, you must read the commitment below and the terms and conditions and agree to all rules and stipulations.

By accepting a Noyce scholarship, you make a commitment to

  • earn your teaching certification in science or mathematics from The School of Education at St. John’s University.
  • complete a lecture/discussion class on the neuroscience of learning and memory in order to develop an understanding of how to teach students learning skills and self-management.
  • teach for two years in a high-need school district for each year of scholarship funding.
     
  • maintain contact with The School of Education after graduation through social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

Your teaching commitment must be fulfilled within six years after graduation from the program.

If you do not fulfill the teaching requirement, the scholarship must be repaid in part or in full, in proportion to the fulfillment of the teaching commitment met, as described in the terms and conditions.

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