Missouri has made strides in expanding a program that recruits students to become future teachers. State Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven touts the Grow Your Own Program, which encourages teachers and other at school to recruit the next generation of educators…

Last year, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education designated 50-million-dollars in federal aid to expand the program. Vandeven (van-DEE-ven) says more than 60-percent of Missouri’s K-12 teachers are teaching within 20 miles of where they grew up.