GRADE SCHOOL STREET LESSONS

IT IS difficult to even conceive of a 9-year-old smuggling suspected
crack cocaine into school, let alone confront it as reality. No
elementary school student could possibly clamor for crack, let alone
bring a second bag of the suspected drug for a friend. Right?

Certainly no third grader should. But apparently one did recently at
Nathan Hale Elementary School, according to school, police, and
children services officials.

A teacher there overheard other students talking about someone who
had crack cocaine. The 9-year-old was quickly identified and taken
to the office, where a bag of suspected crack cocaine was recovered
from his sock.

Another student was identified as the recipient of a second bag.

Upon closer examination the hard facts began to unfold.

Police obtained a warrant to search the third grader's house on
North Detroit Avenue and discovered a stash of incriminating evidence.

They hauled away 14 bags of suspected crack worth $30,000, a scale
likely used in drug trafficking, and a loaded 9mm handgun.

Police say nearly $2,000 was found in a safe belonging to the
22-year-old boyfriend of the child's mother, Andrea Campbell. Samuel
Stuart was charged with trafficking in drugs and drug abuse and
possession of crack cocaine.

The 26-year-old Campbell was charged with the same two offenses
along with misdemeanor child endangering and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Tragically, parental responsibility in this case appears to have
been abrogated altogether. And even worse than the apparent exposure
to drugs at home is the specter of child abuse being raised
regarding the 9-year-old and his three siblings.

The children were placed in the custody of an aunt because officials
saw indications of possible physical abuse with at least three of them.

As the sad tale is sorted out in the coming weeks among police,
prosecutors, and children services, the community must grapple with
the fate of one 9-year-old facing an expulsion hearing.

While not criminally cited by police, he has been charged under the
school district's disciplinary code for offenses that include
distributing, selling, or offering to sell illegal drugs.

Diane Irving, assistant superintendent of elementary education for
Toledo Public Schools, stressed the uncommon nature of the incident
at the elementary level. And police called discovery of drugs on
grade school grounds very rare.

But for a third grader with an upended world of drugs and danger,
the reality is harsh and undeniable.