Trellis vs BloomBoard: Comparing Teacher Development Platforms

What BloomBoard offers

BloomBoard has carved out a distinctive position in K-12 edtech with its micro-credential approach to professional learning. Rather than relying on traditional sit-and-get PD workshops, BloomBoard allows teachers to pursue competency-based micro-credentials that demonstrate mastery of specific skills. Teachers submit evidence of their practice, receive feedback from reviewers, and earn credentials that can be tied to salary advancement or recertification in some states.

This model addresses a real frustration in education: professional development that feels disconnected from daily classroom practice. BloomBoard's personalized PD pathways let teachers focus on areas most relevant to their own growth, rather than attending one-size-fits-all training sessions. The platform can recommend learning pathways based on teacher goals, evaluation data, or district priorities.

BloomBoard is strongest in districts that are moving toward competency-based professional learning systems. For states or districts that recognize micro-credentials for licensure renewal or salary advancement, BloomBoard provides the infrastructure to manage that process. The platform helps districts shift from tracking PD hours to tracking demonstrated competencies, which many educators view as a more meaningful measure of professional growth.

What Trellis offers

Trellis operates in a different part of the teacher development process: the day-to-day feedback loop between school leaders and teachers. The platform helps principals, assistant principals, and instructional coaches capture classroom observations and turn them into polished, actionable feedback using AI. Leaders can input notes by typing, uploading documents, or recording audio, and Trellis generates framework-aligned feedback drafts that match the leader's voice.

Where BloomBoard focuses on what teachers learn through self-directed study, Trellis focuses on what leaders observe in practice and how they communicate about it. The platform supports Danielson, Marzano, CSTPs, UDL, and custom rubrics, ensuring feedback connects to the instructional frameworks teachers are already working within. The positive-first approach and ToneBoost feature help leaders deliver feedback that is both honest and constructive, building the kind of trust that encourages teachers to take risks and try new approaches.

Trellis is non-evaluative by design. It is built for the informal, growth-oriented feedback that research identifies as most impactful for changing classroom practice. Longitudinal growth profiles show teacher development over time, giving both leaders and teachers a clear picture of progress. The platform supports Google and Microsoft SSO, provides role-based access controls and audit logs, and holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, and FERPA certifications.

Key differences at a glance

Trellis and BloomBoard serve different stages of the teacher development journey. The comparison below highlights how their approaches and feature sets differ.

Where Trellis stands out

• Purpose-built for the observation-to-feedback workflow that school leaders manage daily, not as a secondary feature
• AI-powered feedback generation dramatically reduces the time from classroom visit to written feedback delivery
• Multiple observation capture methods including audio recording, so leaders can choose what works best in context
• ToneBoost personalizes feedback tone for each teacher, supporting differentiated conversations
• Longitudinal growth profiles connect observations into a development narrative, giving teachers a clear picture of their trajectory
• Non-evaluative design builds trust and encourages teachers to be open to feedback and experimentation

Which is right for you?

Because Trellis and BloomBoard address different aspects of teacher development, the choice depends on which part of the growth process you are trying to improve.

Choose BloomBoard if your district is building or expanding a competency-based professional development program. If you want teachers to pursue personalized learning pathways, earn micro-credentials, and demonstrate mastery through evidence-based submissions, BloomBoard provides the platform and content to support that model. This is especially relevant in states where micro-credentials count toward licensure renewal or where your district is moving away from traditional PD hour tracking toward demonstrated competency. BloomBoard is also a strong choice if your primary goal is to give teachers more agency over their own professional learning.

Choose Trellis if your priority is increasing the frequency and quality of feedback from leaders to teachers based on what is actually happening in classrooms. If your leaders want to observe more often but the feedback write-up process creates a bottleneck, Trellis solves that problem directly. Schools using Trellis report saving over 500 admin hours per site and delivering five times more observations, with 95% teacher satisfaction. Trellis is the right choice when the goal is to build a culture of consistent, growth-focused feedback that complements whatever formal PD structures you have in place.

Many districts will find that these tools serve complementary purposes. BloomBoard can drive teacher-led professional learning, while Trellis ensures that leaders are providing the frequent, classroom-grounded feedback that helps teachers apply what they are learning. Together, they address both the self-directed and leader-directed sides of professional growth.