DRUG WOES GROWING IN CITY'S GRADE SCHOOLS

Four bags of marijuana tumbled out when a 10-year-old took off his
hat, and two more fell as he entered his classroom.

Three fifth graders took turns holding a bag containing a half ounce
of marijuana, and the student who brought the drug to school had
$920 in his pocket.

And when a 10-year-old was searched for a knife after he threatened
to stab another student, school officials found suspected cocaine.

These are just a few of the reported cases of 59 Philadelphia School
District students from kindergarten through sixth grade involving
drugs or alcohol since September 2004.

And, the district now acknowledges, the problem involving young
students is growing. Newly released district data show 33 of these
cases were reported this academic year, compared with 26 for all of 2004-05.

During the week of March 6 alone, five incidents were reported at
five different schools from Olney to South Philadelphia. The cases
ranged from a third grader with a $5 bag of marijuana to a sixth
grader with suspected crack.

"The problem of children getting their hands on drugs or having
access to drugs is growing and needs to be addressed," said Paul
Vallas, the Philadelphia School District's chief executive officer.

And drugs find their way into suburban schools, too.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education says 10 youngsters at eight
suburban schools were tied to drugs or alcohol during the 2003-04
academic year - the most recent information available.

New Jersey's education department reported only two cases for the
entire state during the 2004-05 school year. Neither were in South Jersey.

While two incidents might seem unrealistically low, New Jersey
education officials said the numbers are accurate.

In the Pennsylvania suburbs, all the reports involved fifth or sixth
graders and came from all four suburban counties.

In one instance, two sixth graders at the Graystone Academy Charter
School in Coatesville were expelled after one of them brought a mini
bottle of liquor to school.

"This was the first and only time anything like this has happened to
us," said Linda Portlock, chief executive of the charter. "It was
dealt with swiftly."

In another case, a sixth grader from William Penn Middle School in
Bucks County's Pennsbury district was sent to an alternative school
after trying to sell marijuana on a school bus.

Schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are required by state laws to
report drug and alcohol cases to the state for all ages, along with
all violence incidents. And while Pennsylvania schools in the
Philadelphia suburbs alone reported 10 cases of students in K-6,
elementary schools in New Jersey's 593 districts reported only two
statewide in 2004-05.

A student in Trenton was suspended for possessing marijuana, and
officials at a Middlesex County school found beer cans in the
school's courtyard.

Richard Vespucci, a spokesman for New Jersey's education department,
believes schools report all drugs and alcohol cases.

"Years ago, schools saw it as a mark against them, and they were
reluctant to report it," he said. "The more current thinking is that
you are not being branded. It is viewed as problems in
society-at-large finding their way into public schools."

Others, however, say it is unlikely that districts in cities with
large numbers of drug arrests would not have any incidents of
students bringing drugs to elementary schools.

"I simply don't believe that," said Vallas.

Camden saw a record 1,321 drug arrests in 2005 by local, state and
federal authorities through a joint drug task force, according to
Bill Shralow, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
But no elementary schools in the Camden School District reported
any cases of youngsters bringing drugs or alcohol to school.

"I can't say for sure they aren't," said Bart Leff, Camden
spokesman. "But have we caught anybody doing it? We have not. We
believe that our elementary schools are pretty clean. We are highly vigilant."

How often do kids bring drugs and alcohol to school?

No one keeps track nationally. But, William Modzeleski, associate
deputy secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools in the
U.S. Department of Education, has heard about youngsters finding
drugs on the street, or bringing them from home. "Prevention needs
to start in elementary school," he said. "You can't wait
until middle school because kids are exposed to alcohol and drugs
at an early age."

A rise in cases in Philadelphia has spurred the district to act.

Vallas has ordered a review of the health curriculum in the primary
grades to underscore the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

He's directed officials to step up random searches of lockers and
book bags in middle and high schools. And the district has a new
24-hour drug reporting hotline: 215-400-DRUG.

"It's part of a public campaign to heighten awareness that this is a
growing problem," Vallas said. "It also provides parents and
students a way to communicate anonymously."

When a young student is found with drugs or alcohol, what happens
depends on the student's age. Counseling is the focus especially for
the youngest. Children below third grade are not suspended.

"In many of these cases, they do not understand the seriousness of
what they are doing," said Gwen Morris, interim director of
transition and alternative education.

A second grader at John M. Patterson Elementary School in Southwest
Philadelphia found with a dozen packets of crack in her book bag a
few weeks ago was not disciplined. Instead, she was permitted to
transfer to another school for a fresh start. Police still don't
know who put the drugs in her book bag.

In many drug cases, students are required to participate with their
parents in a program called the Saturday Morning Alternative Reach
and Teach (SMART). The program includes counseling and sessions on
character-building.

Nine of the 26 students involved with drug and alcohol incidents
during 2004-05 were suspended, and five were sent to alternative
programs, district records show. Three of the youngest received counseling.

When suspected drugs are found in schools, officials turn them over
to police for analysis.

Once drugs are confirmed, police investigate how the child obtained
them. "The goal is to make an arrest," said Sgt. Jim Pauley, a city
police spokesman.

By state law, children under 10 cannot be arrested.

Schools often contact the city's Department of Human Services to
determine whether a drugs or alcohol incident signals neglect in the
child's home.

All students participate in drug and alcohol prevention classes. A
special program targets elementary and middle schools in
neighborhoods with drug problems.

Sharon Patton-Thaxton, principal of Prince Hall Elementary School in
Ogontz, remembers the day in February 2005 when some fifth-grade
girls reported that three male classmates were showing off, taking
turns holding a small bag of marijuana during an assembly.

Patton-Thaxton was surprised by the drugs, but she was shocked when
school police found $920 in one boy's pocket.

He was sent to an alternative school. The others were suspended for four days.

In all her 32 years with the district, Patton-Thaxton had never seen
anything like it. "It was a one-time thing," she said. "We had a
drug awareness program after that."