Kids help clean up “poop” mess as WCI faces next year with one less vice principal

Some kids pulled a very messy prank this week by mixing chocolate pudding and water and smearing it all over the boys’ and girls’ restrooms.

A reader told me that some kids from the leadership class volunteered to help do the cleanup after they “saw the dejected look on the face of the lone custodian whose Herculean task it would be to clean the up the result of this nasty and wasteful joke.” The leadership teacher gave them permission to get to work. “This was a spontaneous gesture … and it shows the positive effects of teachers, home and community in teaching kids to be caring human beings and stewards of their environment. 

 

 Principal Kevin Collins praised their initiative on Thursday, the day before he released a letter informing parents about how the school will try to deal with disruptions on campus—from annoying pranks like the one mentioned above to more serious safety violations—with one less vice principal.

As you probably know, the district has been “deeply affected by the ongoing state budget crisis," Collins says. With the loss of one of two vice principals, Collins said he wanted to let parents know how the school plans to maintain a safe and secure school environment for students and adults.

Collins says:

Morning supervision next year will be covered by the principal in the east portion of the school (Walnut Boulevard) with the vice principal covering the west portion of the school for the 15 minutes prior to the start of classes.  The Campus Supervisor is assigned to the Iron Horse Trail gate and basketball courts from 8 a..m. until the start of classes every day. 

The lunch supervision schedule includes a vice principal or counselor assigned to each lunch period.  The Campus Supervisor also covers both lunch periods.  We also assign a second person to the cover last twenty minutes of each lunch.  This supervision will be covered by the Principal or a Counselor. 

 After school supervision will be covered by the principal and vice principal assigned to either east or west campus supervision.  One counselor is assigned to monitor the bus pick-up area on Walnut Blvd. in the afternoon while the Campus Supervisor monitors the bus pick-up area on Civic Dr. 

As for campus safety and discipline, Collins says:

In the 2010/2011 school year, some of the discipline duties will be shifted.  Minor discipline issues and database entries (lunch detentions, dress code violations, tardy referrals, etc.) will be addressed by the attendance office manager.  Counselors will be assigned to deal with minor teacher referrals, first offenses, and academic honesty issues.  The vice principal will be assigned to deal with more serious referrals and students with multiple discipline contacts.  The principal will deal with serious discipline issues and assist the Vice Principal with referrals and campus disruptions as needed.

We are proud of our school, our students, and our staff.  We share the common goal of ensuring that every student comes to school every day feeling safe and secure.  Our commitment to safety will remain the same regardless of the budget and staffing levels.

Another Iron Horse Trail attack involving a Walnut Creek student

These notices come in about middle and high school students being confronted by suspicious characters or robbed on the Iron Horse Trail in and around downtown Walnut Creek. ... And my immediate thought is: The Iron Horse Trail sounds like a dangerous place for my sixth grader to be walking. 

Here's news about the latest incident. Actually, it involved a Las Lomas High freshman who was robbed of his IPod and earphones while walking to school Friday morning along the trail near Safeway.  

Las Lomas High Principal Pat Lickiss alerted parents at his school that: 

Earlier [Friday], it was reported to our offices that a student had been approached while walking to school and jumped from behind by a man demanding his money. ... A student reported to his English teacher, that on his way to school this morning on the trail by Safeway a heavy set Hispanic man about 5 foot 7 inches with a black hood, bandana over his mouth, and wearing dark blue jeans jumped him from behind demanding his money. The man did get his earphones and IPod. The student said there were no injuries or weapons and he "used what he learned in PE class to get away." 

I realize that we all need to put these incidents into perspective and not leap into panic mode. We need to think of the statistics and probability. I'm sure that the vast majority of us--young and old--are safe while walking, running, or cycling along various stretches of the Iron Horse Trail at different times of day. I'm sure that this sort of incident isn't all that common--despite the fact that it receives attention from school officials and a blogger like me. 

With regard to the Iron Horse Trail, I've gone running along different parts of it early in the morning and at night, after dark. I'm not going to stop doing that because of reports of this kind of crime. I'm not afraid, though I'm always on alert and wary. 


On the other hand, I will let my son know.  Actually, he and his friends at WCI don't use the Iron Horse Trail much at all. It's just the thing he crosses every morning and afternoon while coming and going from school. 


Walnut Creek Intermediate School Principal Kevin Collins is letting parents know because "many WCI students use the trail to get to and from school, and we are asking for parents to again discuss personal safety with their children." 

Warning about new social networking site where Walnut Creek kids are bullying and harassing each other

We already--or should already--know about Facebook, Twitter, texting, sexting. Now, Walnut Creek school officials are alerting parents to another online networking site with a strong potential for abuse and causing harm.

It's called formspring.me. Walnut Creek Intermediate Principal Kevin Collins says formspring.me is becoming an increasingly popular place for middle and high school students to network and socialize, and to also say things to one another that are obscene, demeaning, and harassing.

"We have seen postings from current and former students that include horrible language, boasts about unsafe behaviors, and threats to other students," Collins says.  He adds that the postings on formspring.me has caused some issues between WCI students, but he believes it is more widely used among high school students.

According it its Wikipedia site, formspring.me launched on November 25, 2009 and has already become a hit--and a source of controversy. Last month, an argument over formspring.me led to fight breaking out in a high school in Pennsylvania. Insulting comments posted about a 17-year-old Long Island girl may have led to her suicide in late March (Alexis Pilkington, at right, received many vicious taunts on social networking sites, notably formspring.me, prior to her death, news reports say).

"Unlike some other sites, its business model is not easy to discern," Colins said. "The other key feature is that there does not seem to be any ability to filter or report abuse on the site."

Its business model, such as it is, is a Question and Answer form. That is, friends--and enemies--post questions or comments to people's formspring pages. The owner of the page--or user of the service--answers back. 

That lack of filter, or of self-restraint, seems pretty evident among these selections of exchanges that took place on the formspring page of a Walnut Creek girl, a student at one of our high schools.

Here is a series of Q and A's posted in the past couple days her page. The "Q" is the "guest" or "reader" posting the question to the user of the page; the "A" is the user's response.

Q: go back to your moms vachina

A: no thaaanks:)


Q: ok, here he here he...ur a lesbian motherf-----. i f----- hate your [deleted; racial epithet] ass. my asss you dont comment on random peoples pics...no one likes you PERIOD
A: wtf, why you stalking me nd watching every move i make on facebook? thats just creepy

Q: don't "what tha f---" me bitch. i straight up said it. you obviously know that you have flirted with someone's man. you little ugly bitch needs to back the f--- off because NO ONE respects a home-wrecker.

A: calm yur ass budd, i said what tha f--- cuz i didnt know what home wrecker meant. nd if youu think im flirting with yur man, which im probably not, then tell me somehow who youu are so i can stop "flirting" with yur boyfriend


Q: BACK THE F---- OFF OF MY BOYFRIEND!!

A; whoaa, s--- im not doin anything with anybody. im juss talkin, nd yur probably juss takin it tha wrong way :)

According to formspring.me's terms of service, users must be at least 13 years old. The terms also tell prospective users: "You understand that in using the formspring.me service you may encounter content that may be deemed objectionable, obscene or in poor taste, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit language. The formspring.me service allows for anonymous content which formspring.me does not monitor. You agree to use the formspring.me service at your own risk and that formspring.me shall have no liability to you for content that you may find objectionable, obscene or in poor taste."

Users must agree to not engage in any illegal activity--and to not "transmit any pornographic, obscene, offensive, threatening, harassing, libelous, hate-oriented, harmful, defamatory, racist, illegal or otherwise objectionable material or content." 

Hmm. It looks like some of these Walnut Creek students have possibly violated the formspring.me's terms of service.  Oh, but maybe they are just joking around with each other, and this is just how teens hassle one another, but in a friendly way. Is that possible?

Before I close, check out this exchange between a male Walnut Creek student and one of his readers/friends/enemies/hookups:

Q: "You're a f------ a------ and you're full of s---. You're desperate as f--- and you'll hook up with any bitch that wants to give you head. F--- you.

A: um im sorry ur a stupid bitch and u expect me not to flirt with other girls when u r like hooking up with other guys. your f------ crazy, strait crazy. u cant expect me to not when ur getting around so stfu u f------ hypocrite and i wont hook up with annny bitch, only fine ones :

Walnut Creek schools about ready to make their fundraising goal

(In case you hadn't heard. ... I received notice about two weeks ago, and kept meaning to publish it.) 

The Walnut Creek Education Foundation says that it was only $7,612 away from making their fundraising goal of $724,000.  According to Liz Davis, the foundation president, this fundraising feat was accomplished even though only 45 percent of parents in the districts donated to the foundation.

WCEF's participation rate is a bit lower than foundations raising money for districts in Lamorinda (Oh, those Lamorinda overachievers!). The foundations for these districts also ask for much more money overall--twice or nearly twice as much as Walnut Creek--and more money from each individual family.

WCEF asks for $500 per family, while the Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation, with a fundraising goal of $1.5 million and a 53 percent participation rate, asks for $500 per child.  The foundations for the Orinda and Moraga schools ask for $550 and $600 per child, with fundraising goals of $1.5 and $1.3 million, respectively. The Education Foundation of Orinda enjoys a 68-percent parent participation rate.

The $$$ raised by WCEF support art, music, and PE, and librarian hours in the elementary schools; a counselor, librarian hours, and a "visiting artists" program at Walnut Creek Intermediate; and an academic counselor, librarian, and leadership class at Las Lomas High.

Walnut Creek Intermediate deals with another drug possession issue

A seventh grader at Walnut Creek Intermediate was caught this week in possession of a small amount of marijuana, suspended by the school for five days, and issued a citation by the Walnut Creek police.

This information came in the form of a notice e-mailed out to parents by Principal Kevin Collins. This notice appears to be another example of the school's "conscious decision to inform the community if there were any incidents or threats to our students, either on campus or to and from school," according to Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool.

She explained this effort to keep the community informed about safety issues in an e-mail she sent out earlier this week. Her e-mail went out, no doubt, in response to concerns being raised recently that the loss next year of one of two vice principal's positions, due to budget cuts, would compromise the safety and well-being of the more than 1,100 students on the downtown campus. "We are committed to providing a safe environment regardless of WCI administrative staffing levels," Wool said.

She also said that since the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, there have been two incidents of students being caught in possession of marijuana. There was also a student caught with alcohol and two students who brought knives to school.

Here is a note from Principal Collins about the latest marijuana-possession incident at WCI:

I want to advise our community about a student discipline issue that occurred at WCI during seventh period today.

A seventh grade student was found in possession of a small amount of marijuana. I suspended the student for five days and called the Walnut Creek Police Department. The student received a juvenile citation and was released to the custody of a parent.

We are asking that parents again take this opportunity to speak with their children about drugs and about making good decisions. The safety and security of our students and campus remains our top priority.

Do your kids feel safe at Walnut Creek Intermediate?

Apparently, the vast majority do, which is a good thing, despite the fact that the school has had to deal with five "student issues" in the 2009-10 school year, according to Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool. These incidents involved students bringing knives to school and being in possession of alcohol or marijuana.


Questions about the future of student safety and well-being have also been raised of last week's decision to eliminate one of two vice principal's positions at the 1,120-student school. 


Wool addresses concerns about WCI student safety in an e-mail she just sent out to parents Monday. She also cites results from the most recent California Healthy Kids survey. 


According to Principal Kevin Collins, to the question, "How safe do you feel at school," 16 percent of WCI seventh graders surveyed replied "very safe," close to 60 percent said "safe," and only 4 percent said "unsafe." 


Meanwhile, here is the superintendent's letter: 

Dear Walnut Creek School District Community,

At the start of the 2009-10 school year, WCI made a conscious decision to inform the community if there were any incidents or threats to our students, either on campus or to and from school.  We have informed the community about five student issues to date:  two students who brought knives to school, two students who possessed marijuana, and a student who possessed alcohol.  In addition, you received several reports about suspicious situations and possible abduction attempts in the region.  We inform the community so that you will be able to discuss these issues with your children and ultimately keep all children safe.  Some people worry that the notifications depict a changed campus.

When we look at data, there have been five incidents for 2009-10.  While we wish that there were no such incidents, pre-teens are working to develop good judgment and social skills.  Their judgments are sometimes not the best, and poor choices are sometimes made. It is our job, working with parents, to help all students make sound decisions for themselves.

In our WCI Parent Survey and the bi-annual Healthy Kids' Survey we gained important information about the safety at WCI.  The 2010 parent survey, taken by over half of our families, showed that 90% of families agree or strongly agree that their "student feels safe at school."  In the most recent California Healthy Kids' Survey taken by all 7th graders, 5% of students reported feeling "unsafe."  Because we want no students to feel unsafe, we are working with staff on this issue.

We are committed to providing a safe environment regardless of WCI administrative staffing levels.  A clear, specific reorganization will take place in the WCI Office if there is one vice principal next year.  We will ensure that student safety is a top issue and will be maintained no matter what the structure of the site administration.

Ygnacio Valley Road closure causes huge traffic mess in Walnut Creek Monday morning

UPDATE: Brace yourself, because three lanes of eastbound traffic on Ygnacio Valley Road will remain closed into the late afternoon, as PG&E works to make repairs on a downed power pole, the Contra Costa Times is reporting.  

Police expect another lane to open by 3 p.m. It will be late in the afternoon before the remaining lane is open.

We’re scrambling to adjust our afternoon. My husband was going to pick up my son at school and then take him to a doctor’s appointment at 3:30 p.m.—out on Ygnacio Valley Road. He might have to leave work early to make it to our school pickup place by three (the 7-Eleven on Oak Road) , and then turn around and use the back way to get to his doctor’s. 

EARLIER: If you were dropping your child off at Walnut Creek Intermediate this morning, as I was, you know what a mess it was.  I was probably stuck in traffic moving around the school along Civic Drive and the main post office for close to 45 minutes. Many kids were rushing to make it to first period by 8:30 a.m., and no doubt quite a few were going to be arriving late.

People who use Ygnacio Valley Road  to commute to and from Walnut Creek were also stuck in traffic.

And what was the cause of this? According to the Contra Costa Times, it was a downed power pole on Ygnacio Valley Road. A minor injury crash around 2 a.m. at Homestead Road knocked the utility pole across three lanes of eastbound Ygnacio Valley Road.

There was no estimate for when the pole would be cleared. 

Police were directing motorists to alternate routes along Treat Boulevard and Bancroft Road, which also were getting clogged up.  There was no estimate offered to the Times on when the pole would be removed, and the roadway re-opened. 

Swatiska graffiti reportedly found on Ironhorse Trail in Walnut Creek

Police received a report Thursday that several swatiskas and "words" had been spraypainted on a wall along the Ironhorse Trail near Las Lomas High School.

The report came in a little before 4 p.m., and the grafitti was just past the high school and near the support for the "overpass," presumably the pedestrian overpass the crosses South Broadway.

Perhaps it's time for some kids and teens in Walnut Creek to get lessons in history and in how some words and images have very painful associations in our culture.

That same afternoon, as I was waiting in the 7-Eleven parking lot on Oak Road to pick up my son from Walnut Creek Intermediate, I heard another student, a young white male, use the N-word to greet a friend, another white male student. You can read about the discussion that incident provoked on this post, "Hey N-----! A greeting between some Walnut Creek middle school boys."

I walked down the Ironhorse Trail this morning and looked for the grafitti, but didn't find it. The Walnut Creek police Daily Bulletin indicates that the police had referred the report to the East Bay Regional Parks District, which has jurisdiction over the trails. Perhaps the parks district got it cleaned up as quickly as possible.

Overheard: "Hey N-----!" A greeting between some Walnut Creek middle school boys

Picking up my son from school almost always proves to be an enlightening experience.

In the parking lot of 7-Eleven on Oak Road, one group of boys passed another, and a boy in one group said to a boy in the other, "Hey N----!" That's right, the N-word

The greeting was delivered in a friendly tone, no insult or hostility intended. The speaker was white, and so were the boy or boys he was addressing. So, it's not like this was the case of a white speaker saying something derogatory about the race of someone else. 

It was also clear that these boys didn't understood the significance of the word they were tossing around, that the N-word is pretty loaded in Western culture. As the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, the N-word ranks as "perhaps the most offensive and inflammatory racial slur in English."

However, as the dictionary says, and as many of us know,the N-word's use "among blacks is not always intended or taken as offensive..." In the context of some segments of the African-American community, including the worlds of rap, hip-hop, and entertainment, the use of the word can be affectionite, familiar. However, it can be derisive, but acceptable to use. Example: In the HBO show The Wire, one Baltimore drug dealer would use the epithet when speaking with annoyance about another drug dealer who wasn't pulling his weight or is screwing him out of profits. The rapper Nas (pictured here at the Grammys) ignited a controversy when he announced that the name of his new 2008 album would be "Nigger." Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Fox News were not pleased, but many of Nas' entertainment colleagues came to his defense. Bottom line, the cultural acceptance for using the N-word exists--though it is controversial--and there are rules, though loosely defined, about when, how, and who can use this word. 

I don't think this cultural acceptance would extend to a  white Walnut Creek middle school student, although the kid was acting like it did. Offending someone was not his intention. Trying to look and sound cool, hip, street--that seemed to his the aim of him and his friends, at least one of whom was carrying a skateboard. 
Part of me was amused at the boy's misguided attempt to sound cool. Out of the mouths of 12-year-old white suburban boys.

But, another part of me thought, I hope some adult in his life has heard this word slip out of his mouth and given him a serious talk about why it's so massively uncool for him to use it.

I mentioned this incident to a co-worker, who, like me, grew up in Walnut Creek and attended local schools. Back when he was in middle school, he said, the massively uncool word that he and his buddies threw around at each other was "fag."

I'd say times have changed, but I think this f-word is still in play in 2010 amongst pre-adolescent and adolescent males.

Gideon Bible guys passing out New Testaments to Walnut Creek Intermediate students Thursday

A different but discussion-provoking incident happened during afternoon pickup at Walnut Creek Intermediate...

My son and his friend, whom I meet at the 7-Eleven parking lot on Oak Road, plopped into the car, and my son announced "This guy was handing out Bibles after school."

Bibles? Handing them out? At School? What? Isn't there some Church-State separation here?

My son held up up a pocket-sized volume of the New Testament, bound with faux, orange leather binding and embossed with gold lettering.

The book looked shiny and new, but I wondered, who in Hades was handing out Bibles to Walnut Creek Intermediate school kids?

As it turned out, as my son continued to explain, the Bible Guy wasn't standing on school grounds when he handled my son the good book. Rather, the guy was on the trail--the Ironhorse Trail--when he made his offering. The Ironhorse Trail runs alongside the WCI playing field and is part of the East Bay Regional Parks District.  

Still, hearing about this Bible guy made me wary.  Not because of the item he was handing out, but because he had approached my son and some other kids. I envisioned some disheveled guy, with a crazed look in his eye, hearing voices, and mumbling "Repent! The end is near!" Also, as I've reported on this blog in the past, there have been a couple incidents involving WCI kids on that portion of the Ironhorse Trail, at least one of which involved a suspicious behaving man approaching a student.

So, I followed my son and his friend back down to the trail, and I saw that there were two guys--two nicely but casually dressed older gentlemen. They each held cardboard boxes and, with smiles on their faces, were handing out the little orange Bibles to kids. "Would you like a Bible," they were asking.

I approached them and asked where they were from. The Gideon organization, one of the gentleman told me, offering me a New Testament, which I took.

Back in the car, a discussion popped up among my son, his friend, and me, about the religion, Christianity, the difference between the New and Old testaments, and our beliefs. As I may have mentioned before, I'm not religious, and my family doesn't attend church, but I told my son he might want to read some portion of the book he received. I said both the Old and New Testaments contain interesting, famous stories and lessons about life, and some beautiful writing. I mentioned that I had a former high school English teacher who now teaches a class on the Bible as literature at Diablo Valley College.

As if to punctuate my statement about the Bible's literary value, my son's friend happened upon a passage from Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation, and read it aloud: "And He said to me, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."

Middle school kids in crisis? Yes, it can happen

Over the past few years, I've heard of a few cases of 7th and 8th graders, in our suburbs, committing suicide. The most recent case was of an 8th grade girl, down in the San Ramon Valley. To her family and friends, she was a happy, bright girl, and a successful student, involved in various school activities. But she hung herself, and her parents were left with putting back the pieces of their daughter's history, to try and discover the signs they missed.

When I was in middle school, I still felt very much like a kid, which included not having strong feelings of anxiety or depression. And it was beyond me to think of doing risky things--using alcohol, drugs, having sex--that it seemed older kids were doing. But later, I learned that people my age were doing these things in middle school. 

They say that kids are growing up a lot sooner now. Maybe so. But there are kids now, and back when I was growing up, who were dealing with very serious issues. We probably didn't know it then. Maybe we're more aware now.  I'm not so sure. Already, at Walnut Creek Intermediate, there have been several incidents of students being caught on campus with knives, alcohol, and pot.

Anyway, if you're the parent of a middle schooler, it might serve you well to attend a lunchtime talk Thursday at Walnut Creek Intermediate: "Kids in Crisis." It is given by Walnut Creek Intermediate's crisis counselor, who will help make parents aware of "red flags," those signals that kids give out that something very wrong is going on in their lives.  Here's the notice.

Kids in Crisis: What to Look For and What to Do

by Sara Hamilton Dietzel, MA

Thursday, January 21, 2010; Noon-1:30 p.m.; Library, Walnut Creek Intermediate School, 2425 Walnut Blvd., Walnut Creek

Middle school presents itself with many new challenges for children and their parents. Come and explore the many experiences of the middle school years and beyond. Sara Hamilton Dietzel, WCI's Crisis Counselor, will discuss what to look for or notice about your children's behavior so you can be aware if your son or daughter is struggling. Issues such as substance use, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and bullying will be addressed. Ideas of what to do and how to manage these signs of concern will be presented.

Bring your lunch and join us in the library for an informative time! Please RSVP (no fee) to WCIPTAparentedu@comcast.net.

Also, these talks, hosted by the Acalanes Union High School District's Parent Education program and Walnut Creek Intermediate's PTA, are open to everyone in the community, not just people who have kids at this school or any of the schools in these districts.

Another WCI student caught with pot--may be related to earlier case

An eighth-grader at Walnut Creek Intermediate was caught bringing a small amount of marijuana and a pipe to school, Principal Kevin Collins advised parents Friday. That student was also arrested by the Walnut Creek Police Department and "is no longer enrolled in the Walnut Creek School District."

Collins adds that "while we were unable to confirm, this situation may have been related to the marijuana possession case that occurred before break." Collins says in his e-mail to parents:

"We remain committed to providing a safe and drug free school environment. In light of this, WCI administrators will be visiting classes to reiterate school rules regarding drugs and alcohol. We are again asking parents to talk with students regarding the negative effects of drugs and alcohol. Our school and parents need to work together to address these issues at WCI."

As for the earlier marijuana case to which Collins refers? I reported, back on December 19, that before the winter holiday break, a student was caught in possession of a lighter, pipe, and small amount of marijuana. Collins said back in December:

"Our disciplinary code also calls for a five-day suspension for any drug or paraphernalia possession or use, and also calls for police contact. The Walnut Creek Police Department typically places a student who is caught with drugs on a school campus into custody and transports them to the police station."

In that December e-mail, Collins assured parents that alcohol and drug possession cases are "rare" at Walnut Creek Intermediate. I noted that it is true that suspensions for drug and alcohol possession are "rare," according to reports the district makes to the state Department of Education. During the 2008-09 school year, a total of 100 Walnut Creek school district students were suspended, but only one was caught in possession or was involved in sales of alcohol or drugs.

No students in the district were expelled last school year. However, the district has already expelled one student, and the above language about the eighth-grader disciplined this week--that the student "is no longer enrolled" in the district--suggests another expulsion might be in the works. It is the same language Collins used about one of two students involved in two separate incidents back in November, when these students were caught with knives on campus. 

Some numbers behind recent drug, alcohol, and weapons possession cases at Walnut Creek Intermediate

Two Walnut Creek Intermediate students were suspended this past week for possession of alcohol and marijuana, according to a e-mail sent out by Principal Kevin Collins:

The first case involved a student who was in possession of a small bottle of cognac. Our disciplinary code calls for a five day suspension for any alcohol possession or use at school.

The second involved a student who was in possession of a lighter, pipe, and small amount of marijuana. Our disciplinary code also calls for a five day suspension for
any drug or paraphernalia possession or use, and also calls for police contact. The Walnut Creek Police Department typically places a student who is caught with drugs on a school campus into custody and transports them to the police station, as was done today.

Collins suggested that parents continue to have conversations with their children regarding drug and alcohol use. He added that these two cases happened on the same day, which is unusual. He added that these situations are "rare occurrences" for the school.

It is true that suspensions for drug and alcohol possession are "rare." During the 2008-09 school year, a total of 100 students were suspended, but only one was caught in possession or was involved in sales of alcohol or drugs, according to reports to the state Department of Education.

However, a somewhat larger number of WCI students are using or experimenting. According to a 2007 Healthy Kids Survey of 335 WCI 7th graders (86 percent of the class), 13 percent said they had tried alcohol at least once in their lives, while 3 percent said they had tried marijuana. Eight percent said they had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days, while 2 percent said they had used pot.

As for what kids are getting into trouble for at Walnut Creek Intermediate?

The majority of those 100 suspended in the 2008-09 year were punished for violent, rude, and disruptive behavior. Forty-one were suspended for use of "force or violence"; 26 for disrupting school activities or "willful defiance"; and 15 for committing an "obscene act" or "habitual profanity or vulgarity." Of some concern--in light of the recent rape case at the El Cerrito middle school, in which the victim claimed she had been previously sexually harassed by her rapist--is the fact that five WCI students were suspended in 2008-09 for sexual harassment.

No WCI students were expelled in 2008-09. But so far this year, there has been one student in the Walnut Creek school district expelled, according to a summary of the district's December 7 board meeting. The summary of that meeting did not indicate whether the student was a middle or elementary school student.

Last month, WCI dealt with two separate incidents in one week of two students being caught with knives. In one case, a student was packing a "locking blade knife," was released to the custody of his parents, and school officials say the student is no longer enrolled at WCI.

Again, it's rare for students to be caught with weapons at WCI. In the 2008-09, three students were suspended for being caught with weapons, including knives. It should be noted that none of those weapons involved firearms.

In fact, in perusing data for expulsions and suspensions for Walnut Creek four public middle and high schools, going back to the 2004-05 year, I found that no student had been caught with a gun.

Second knife possession incident at Walnut Creek Intermediate, and another reminder to parents

While investigating reports of smoke bombs on campus Friday morning, school officials found a second student in two days in possession of a knife. This was a “locking blade knife,” according to the Walnut Creek police daily bulletin.

The student was released to the custody of parents, and school officials say the student is no longer enrolled at WCI.

School officials say no one was threatened or even shown the knife at school. “While this was the second knife that was found at WCI in two days, an event like this remains a very rare occurrence.”

They add that “students found in possession of a weapon on campus are issued a five-day suspension and the police are called. The student may face criminal charges and be recommended for expulsion.”

The 7th grade student in Thursday’s incident was arrested, according to the Walnut Creek police daily bulletin. The day before, that student had apparently been seen exhibiting the weapon on the trail next to the school.