Dive Brief:
- California-based startup BloomBoard has publicly launched its market for free and paid curriculum and professional development resources for teachers.
- The marketplace was originally available only to teachers who were BloomBoard customers or whose school or district was.
- Founded in March 2010, the company developed teacher evaluation tools and has contracts with over 700 districts in 22 states.
Dive Insight:
The market for personalized professional development products is substantial. During the 2012-2013 school year, its size was an estimated $3.2 billion and Congress appropriated $2.9 billion for teacher training programs. Roughly 40% of the funds school districts have for professional development go to outside services or contractors, or about $1.4 billion.
The market is likely to continue growing as more tech-driven companies like Bloomboard enter the scene and districts adapt to the demands of new state standards and getting educators up to speed on teaching them. According to the company's CEO, Bloomboard's most popular resources have been Common Core- or STEM-related.
