ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education is expected to vote Monday on a proposal to allow Drew Charter School in southeast Atlanta to expand from PreK-8 to PreK-12.
Superintendent Erroll Davis has said he is against such an expansion because it would ultimately take students away from a city high school system that already has 6,200 vacancies.
Parents, however, are excited at the prospect of keeping their kids in what so far has been one of the top-performing charter schools in the state.
"It means that more children can attend the Drew pipeline. That's a cradle to college pipeline," said parent Tris Sicignano.
Several parents held a rally Sunday at the school to generate support for the cause prior to the Monday vote.
"The way students have excelled here has made it a school of choice," said parent and PTA President Charisse Richards. "When you find something good, you want to stick with it."
"When the kids leave here, they go off to other high schools," said East Lake Neighborhood Community Association President Kat Lindholm. "And the graduation rate is 75 percent, which I find to be appalling."
She said parents want their kids to have a chance to remain in a learning environment where the graduation rate might be closer to 100 percent.
"This is the future of southeast Atlanta, and the more investment you have on top schools, the more individuals who move to this part of town will stay in this part of town with their children," said Lindholm.
Charter schools are publicly funded so that any child in the Atlanta Public School system can attend them, no matter where they live within the district. Davis has expressed concern that a new charter high school would further deplete an already sparsely-populated high school system.
The school board, however, has the final say. The board is expected to vote on the matter Monday at its 6 p.m. meeting.
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