Drew Charter School won approval of its long-hoped for desire to create a high school Monday night.

Drew Charter, which is in East Lake, became the city's first charter school when the Atlanta Board of Education approved it in 1999.

Its core mission upon which that aproval was based: To primarily serve low income children from the Village of East Lake, a mixed-income housing community.

Though the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education approved Drew Charter's request to expand to create a high school and increase K-8 enrollment by another 400 students, district Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. expressed concern that that core mission would suffer as the school grows.

East Atlanta Patch spoke with Cynthia Kuhlman, chairwoman of Drew Charter's board of directors to address those concerns and see how expansion fits in with that core goal.

Please click on the video to see our interview.