What BloomBoard does

BloomBoard, Inc. is a private education technology company that operates a talent development platform connecting K-12 school districts with higher education institutions to deliver on-the-job degree and certification programs for educators. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA with a fully remote workforce, the company targets public school districts seeking to address teacher shortages through "grow-your-own" pathways that enable paraprofessionals and existing staff to earn accredited bachelor's and master's degrees while remaining employed in their classrooms.

The BloomBoard platform employs a portfolio-based, coaching-supported learning model in which educators submit classroom artifacts — lesson plans, student work samples, and instructional videos — for competency-based assessment. Districts can license turnkey "Your-Distinct U" branded programs that connect their educators to partner universities (Lake Erie College, Point Park University, Oklahoma Christian University, Doane University, Messiah University), with offerings spanning special education, elementary education, paraprofessional training, AI for Educators, and National Board Certification support. The platform manages cohort-based program delivery including orientation, weekly faculty sessions, 1:1 support, and on-site mentoring, and is FERPA, COPPA, and CCPA compliant — operating as a "school official" under FERPA when serving K-12 institutions.

BloomBoard generates revenue primarily through multi-year subscription contracts in the form of course license fees and district program licensing, with programs typically funded by districts using ESSER funds, Title funds, and state or federal grants. The company sells through direct enterprise field sales to district leadership, supplemented by partnerships with educational service agencies such as Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15 to scale across member districts. Notable deployments include the Hernando County School District (FL) Associate Teacher Substitute Program serving 56 participants, the Capital Area Pathways to Teaching (CAPT) program in Pennsylvania, the Waterbury U initiative in Connecticut covering up to 800 staff, and paraprofessional advancement programs in Evanston/Skokie (IL), Bellwood (IL), Sterling (IL), and Triad (OH). Across disclosed funding rounds, the company has raised approximately $12.2M from investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Birchmere Ventures, Learn Capital, Gera Venture Capital, and Imagine K12.

Name

BloomBoard

Legal name

BloomBoard, Inc.

Website

https://bloomboard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

BloomBoard is a private education technology company that operates a portfolio-based learning platform connecting K-12 school districts with higher education institutions to deliver on-the-job degree and certification programs for working educators, primarily paraprofessionals seeking teaching credentials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educator Professional Development & On-the-Job Degree Programs

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Development / CPD Requirement Administration for Licensure (EDADAJAL), Career Readiness & College Prep (In-School) (EDAJAFAM)

Keywords

• Educator professional development
• On-the-job degree programs
• Teacher pipeline solutions
• Micro-credentials platform
• Grow-your-own teacher programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Course License Fees: Access to the BloomBoard platform and Services is offered on a license fee basis. Course License Fees must be paid in full before a Registered User may access the Site Content and Services. All pricing is quoted in United States Dollars and exclusive of taxes.
2. District Program Licensing: BloomBoard provides turnkey programs to school districts for educator advancement. Districts pay for programs that can be funded through ESSER funds, title funds, grants, and other funding sources to cover or subsidize educators' degrees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BloomBoard operates a talent development platform (my.bloomboard.com) that enables K-12 school districts to deliver on-the-job degree, certification, and micro-credential programs for educators. The company partners school districts with accredited higher education institutions to provide turnkey, district-branded "Your-District U" programs in which paraprofessionals and staff earn bachelor's or master's degrees and state teaching certifications through portfolio-based, coaching-supported coursework completed while employed.

Product overview

BloomBoard is a talent development platform that operates as a unified ecosystem connecting school districts with higher education institution partners. The core BloomBoard Platform serves as the central hub enabling districts to implement on-the-job educator advancement programs, while specialized offerings include School District Solutions for turnkey implementation and Higher Education Institution Programs for university partners. The product portfolio includes district-branded programs such as Associate Teacher Substitute Programs (Learn It U), Capital Area Pathways to Teaching (CAPT), and Waterbury U, alongside credential programs like the Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, Paraprofessional Training Program, and National Board Certification Support. The platform's distinctive approach uses portfolio-based, coaching-supported learning allowing educators to earn accredited degrees by demonstrating competencies through classroom artifacts, videos, and lesson plans while employed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BloomBoard Platform Core talent development platform (my.bloomboard.com) that connects K-12 school districts with higher education institutions to deliver on-the-job certification and degree programs for educators, enabling paraprofessionals to advance to licensed teachers while remaining employed. Supports portfolio-based learning with artifact submission, assessor feedback, coaching, and cohort coordination.
• School District Solutions Turnkey talent development offering for K-12 school districts, providing educator preparation, promotion, and salary advancement at all professional levels, including grow-your-own teacher programs and apprenticeship pathways, branded as a district's own "Your-District U."
• Higher Education Institution Programs Ready-made, customizable distance learning degree and certification programs that university partners (e.g., Lake Erie College, Point Park University, Doane University, Oklahoma Christian University, Messiah University) deliver through BloomBoard's platform for educator advancement.
• Associate Teacher Substitute Program (Learn It U) District-branded on-the-job program (e.g., Hernando County's Learn It U) that pays paraprofessionals to work full-time in classrooms while earning a Bachelor's degree and teaching certification through portfolio-based courses delivered on the BloomBoard platform with a university partner (Lake Erie College).
• Bachelor of Arts in Special Education Fully job-embedded route to teacher certification for paraprofessionals and school staff, allowing participants to work while completing degree requirements and gain full teacher licensure in Special Education upon graduation. Delivered through the Doane University partnership.
• Paraprofessional Training Program Nine-credit, one-semester professional learning experience that strengthens instructional skills for paraprofessionals with fewer than five years of experience, serving as a first step toward a teaching degree.
• AI for Educators Graduate-level program helping classroom teachers explore practical and ethical AI applications including lesson planning, personalized instruction, and student AI literacy, with credits applicable toward Master's degrees.
• National Board Certification Support Portfolio-based on-the-job learning experience supporting teachers in developing core competencies necessary for successful National Board Certification (NBCT) candidacy, delivered through the BloomBoard platform.
• Capital Area Pathways to Teaching (CAPT) Pennsylvania program enabling paraeducators and classified staff across Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15's 24 member districts to earn Bachelor's degrees in Elementary or Special Education (and a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning) through on-the-job learning with Point Park University and Messiah University.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of educators report positive impact on practice
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Doane UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBloomBoard partnered with Doane University to launch job-embedded degree and credential programs for working educators. Programs include Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, Paraprofessional Training Program, and AI for Educators. The partnership was supported by a $2,027,724 FIPSE grant for the PIVOT initiative (January 2026–December 2029).
• Lake Erie CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLake Erie College offers accredited Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and special education programs through BloomBoard's on-the-job delivery model. Used by Hernando County School District's Associate Teacher Substitute Program.
• Point Park UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoint Park University offers on-the-job Bachelor's Degree in Education through the Capital Area Pathways to Teaching Program in partnership with Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15 and BloomBoard.
• Oklahoma Christian UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOklahoma Christian University partners with BloomBoard to offer Master's degrees and teaching certification. Used by District 65 (Evanston/Skokie, IL) for paraprofessional advancement program.
• Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAIU partnered with BloomBoard to create the Capital Area Pathways to Teaching (CAPT) program for its 24 member school districts in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area. First IU in Pennsylvania to implement this type of program.
• Messiah UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMessiah University offers Master of Education in Teaching and Learning through CAPT program for paraprofessionals with bachelor's degrees in fields other than education.
• Waterbury Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterbury Public Schools in Connecticut partnered with BloomBoard to offer Waterbury U initiative providing free on-the-job college-credit courses for up to 800 current staffers, leveraging Covid relief funds.
• Evanston/Skokie School District 65coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistrict 65 in Illinois partnered with BloomBoard for paraprofessional advancement program resulting in four staff members earning Master's degrees and Illinois teaching certification.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Edthena: Video-based teacher coaching and observation platform enabling educators to upload classroom videos for peer and coach feedback. Comparable to BloomBoard's video-based portfolio and coaching-supported learning model.
• Relay Graduate School of Education: Graduate school of education focused on teacher preparation and leadership development, including alternative certification pathways for career-changers and paraprofessionals. Highly comparable to BloomBoard's on-the-job degree and certification model for aspiring educators.
• BetterLesson: Professional development platform offering coaching, workshops, and on-demand PD for K-12 teachers, often sold to districts. Comparable as a vendor delivering job-embedded educator development and coaching services to school systems.
• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): Administers National Board Certification, a respected advanced teaching credential achieved through portfolio-based assessment. BloomBoard explicitly offers National Board Certification Support, making NBPTS the certification body whose standards BloomBoard helps educators meet.
• Advancement Courses: Online provider of graduate-level professional development courses for K-12 educators, often used by districts for salary advancement and relicensure. Comparable as a catalog-based PD provider serving working teachers.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera for Teacher Academy / Coursera for Schools: Major online learning platform offering teacher PD content, certificates, and degree pathways from top universities. Competes for district PD and certification budgets as a broad incumbent with established university partnerships similar to BloomBoard's.
• 2U (edX): Online program manager partnering with universities to deliver degree and bootcamp programs, including teacher preparation offerings. Overlaps with BloomBoard's university-mediated degree delivery for working adults.
• SchoolMint: K-12 talent management platform covering hiring, enrollment, and retention including teacher recruitment and onboarding. Adjacent competitor for district workforce development budgets, though broader in scope than BloomBoard.
• Frontline Education: Large K-12 administrative software provider (HR, professional growth, student management). Its professional growth module overlaps with BloomBoard's PD and educator advancement offerings as part of a broader district software suite.

Emerging players

• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): Nonprofit focused on teacher recruitment, training, and retention, including alternative certification programs like Teaching Fellows. Comparable as a mission-driven organization building teacher pipelines, especially for high-need districts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BloomBoard
• Xx.com/BloomBoard
• Facebookfacebook.com/bloomboard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2221795

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BloomBoard