New York charter schools that received Freedom of Information Law requests from NYSUT will find this story interesting. The Connecticut Education Association recently asked for similar information from the small number of charter schools there. And, if you believe what they are saying publicly (The Chalkboard will let you decide whether it sounds truthful) it is because union officials are dying to know why charter schools are performing so well.

The New Haven Advocate reports that the union requested from all Connecticut public charter schools information like titles, pay and work rules for all employees; names, subjects and certification status of all teachers. From the story:

The union is not trying to organize Amistad teachers, [CEA lobbyist Mark] Waxenberg says. Rather, the CEA is interested in "learning from [the charter schools] and taking those lessons to the legislature. Their expenditure of dollars is obviously having a positive impact. We're familiar with their curriculum; we're familiar with the instructional methodology. But one of the critical things is, where do the dollars go? Do more of the dollars go to instruction? This basically is to build a case for what we need in the public school systems."

Dacia Toll, of Amistad (pictured above,) is skeptical.

"We don't want a war with the union," she cautions. "We're working to comply" with the FOI request, though the schools haven't yet done so. And, she notes, "We've repeatedly invited the union leadership to visit the schools and stay for as long as they would like."

The union has not taken her up on the offer, Toll says. Waxenberg's rationale for the FOI request for financial information would, she says, "make more sense if it came with a request to visit and engage in a conversation about teaching and learning."

Hmmm.