PALO ALTO, Calif., May 23, 2017 – BloomBoard, the leading competency-based professional development platform has been selected by the Texas Education Agency to pilot six professional learning programs supported by micro-credentials to educators across the state. Announced by the TEA earlier in May, the pilot is the first step in transitioning to a competency-based learning model and will serve to inform future professional development efforts in Texas.

“The most important person in public education is the teacher at the front of every classroom, and we want to ensure they receive the support they deserve,” said Texas Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath. “By offering this new approach to professional development, we are working to improve our support of teachers, principals, counselors and even school board members throughout Texas.”

Approximately 400 teachers, counselors, and school board leaders across Texas will participate in the pilot programs which focus on six key areas including teacher effectiveness, college and career readiness, early literacy, career technical education, and ethics and student outcomes alignment for school governance. As part of the program, participants will have access to professional learning resources and virtual learning communities where they can collaborate with each other as they work towards earning their micro-credentials. The programs are slated to begin in the spring and run through the summer.

“We’re thrilled that the Texas Education Agency has selected BloomBoard as their partner in implementing competency-based learning supported by micro-credentials,” said Sanford Kenyon, CEO of BloomBoard. “We believe that professional development opportunities should be measured on outcomes, not hours and our work in Texas coupled with the national momentum we’re seeing around micro-credentials supports this.”

Texas is part of a growing number of states that are making the shift to competency-based professional development. BloomBoard is also working with the departments of education in Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Washington, and Delaware to pilot professional learning programs supported by micro-credentials. In addition, a number of districts across the U.S. have developed competency-based programs to facilitate personalized learning, including Dysart Unified School District, School District of South Milwaukee, and Seminole County Schools.

To learn more about competency-based professional learning programs offered by BloomBoard, visit bloomboard.com.