STORY CREDIT: EdWeek and Stephen Sawchuk published original article.

The Los Angeles district and its teachers’ union have hit a formal impasse in contract negotiations, with pay and teacher evaluation among the top issues.

The impasse means that the state’s Public Employment Relations Board will appoint a mediator, and then a fact-finder who can make recommendations on a resolution. But those recommendations aren’t binding, and United Teachers Los Angeles has warned that it won’t settle for an agreement that takes a piecemeal approach to the contract.

READ FULL ARTICLE ON EdWEEK HERE

STORY CREDIT: al.com and Mike Cason published original article.

The Alabama Education Association has provided notice of a “pre-termination hearing” for Executive Secretary Henry Mabry.

AEA President Anita Gibson announced the decision today.

Mabry, who took over for longtime AEA chief Paul Hubbert three years ago, received notice of the plans to terminate him during an AEA board meeting that went past midnight Friday night.

The decision comes months after Hubbert released a letter to board members and administrators saying that the once mighty organization was in crisis.

Hubbert cited financial problems, declining membership, loss of political influence and poor leadership by Mabry.

The board met in September after Hubbert’s letter came out and voted to stand behind Mabry.

Since then, the AEA has had two audits conducted, a financial audit and a human resources audit. The human resources audit involved interviews with employees about the association.

READ FULL ARTICLE AT AL.COM

Educators and entrepreneurs at BETT 2015 discuss the importance of an interactive curriculum. Lynn Walker of MyOn, Veejay Lingiah CEO at Flashsticks, Tilly Brooke of NowPressPlay, Marta Palomares of Edebe, Richard Flower of Kurzweil Education and Ashok Baker of Schools Media debate 21st century curriculum.