Officials in a California school district say an eighth-grade teacher who rattled a table to get her students' attention is on leave after one called police.

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Police in Atherton said officers responded to the Selby Lane School at about 2:26 p.m. after a student called 911 and reported a teacher causing a disturbance in a classroom, the Palo Alto (Calif.) Daily News reported Wednesday.

Sgt. Tim Lynch said officers arrived to find class in session and they determined nothing had been thrown. Investigators said the teacher had shaken a table to get the class's attention and the action had apparently startled one girl who left the classroom and called police.

"My impression by talking to her was that she was disturbed by what the teacher was doing," Lynch said.

Lynch said most of the students in the class had not been disturbed by the table rattling and the incident was not a case of "a teacher out of control."

However, Redwood City School District Deputy Superintendent John Baker said the teacher was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. He said the action was taken due to the nature of the complaint and because police were called.