Central Board of Education decries inBloom data mining

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Board of Education passed a resolution at its Jan. 8 meeting calling on the state not to send data on district students to InBloom or any other private third party.

The measure made clear the board’s concern over a privately funded organization controlling student data. In the past, districts had to share basic data with the New York State Department of Education. Now districts must provide in-depth information, for possible release to a third party.

“One of the district’s priorities has always been and will continue to be the security of student data,” said Board of Education President Susan Schwartz. “This resolution emphasizes the board’s continued commitment to protecting the privacy of its students and takes a stand against the potential exploitation of such data.”

In an interview after Wednesday’s meeting, Superintendent John DeTommaso said the Central District would send as little sensitive student data to the state as possible, but it would comply with the law, meaning that it would send required data.

inBloom is a nonprofit technology-services provider that integrates student data with the multiple computer applications that educational software companies are writing for classroom use “to personalize” students’ educational experiences.



The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York are backing the $100 million effort. Nine states –– representing 11 million students –– are taking part in a pilot program to develop inBloom, including New York, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina.




“inBloom lets us compile and access assessment data from more than a dozen different systems,” said Tom Stella, an assistant school superintendent in Everett, Mass., in an inBloom press release last February. “This information, paired with relevant content that maps to students’ individual needs, helps maximize a teacher’s time and a student’s learning potential by letting them focus on in-class teaching and learning.”