In states and districts throughout the country, “Grow Your Own” (GYO) teacher programs have become a popular strategy for strengthening and diversifying the teacher pipeline. By developing teacher candidates from local communities, the logic goes, GYO programs will expose more potential educators to the career, diversify the K–12 workforce, and boost retention. Indeed, initial evidence suggested that these programs can enhance teacher recruitment and retention . But their rapid rollout outpaced research on their effects on student achievement. Now, a new study by four researchers from the University of Maryland builds on the existing literature by digging into different forms of teacher “localness” and by connecting localness to student outcomes.