Hundreds at Candlelight Vigil for Albany Teacher

Hundreds of parents and students gathered Tuesday night to remember well-liked teacher and coach James Izumizaki in a silent candlelight vigil outside Albany Middle School. Inside, parents met in the library for a session planned by the school district to offer guidance on speaking to children about issues raised over the past week. 

Monday, authorities said Izumizaki's body was found, along with a note, in a car in San Lorenzo at about 10:30 a.m. Authorities said they were investigating his death as a suicide. 

He was arrested by Albany police last week for investigation of lewd acts with a child under 14, identified only as a former student. He was released on bail on Thursday.

A mental health counselor with the district said it was challenging to know what kind of support to offer given the wide range of issues that have arisen in the community in the past week, from teacher suicide and sexual allegations, to the grieving process and how to spot signs of sexual abuse. 

Albany youth have been coming together throughout the day to leave flowers, candles and notes around the base of the middle school flagpole, where the flag was at half-mast as of Tuesday evening. One parent said a crowd of high school students walked over to the memorial after school to remember the popular teacher. 

Albany students began to arrive at the memorial at 7 p.m., and the gathering quickly grew to a crowd of more than 100. As of 8 p.m., many remained in a circle, spilling onto the sidewalk and comforting each other around the memorial. The group began breaking up at about 8:30, though dozens of students remained huddled together, arms around each other and wiping tears from their eyes.

More background on the story can be found at Albany Patch.