**Texas school shocks parents with tone-deaf Winnie-the-Pooh active shooter survival book; District apologizes after outcry.**
In a baffling move, a Texas school district sent young students home with a Winnie-the-Pooh book on how to survive an active shooter at school, sparking outrage among parents. The poorly-timed handout left the district scrambling to issue an apology and address the concerns of disturbed families.
Cindy Campos, a mother of two students at Leslie A. Stemmons Elementary School, expressed her incredulity at the “tone-deaf” book, which was given to her children without any accompanying warnings or instructions for parents. The book, titled “Stay Safe: Run, Hide, Fight,” featured beloved childhood characters like Pooh and Piglet, along with jarring quotes about what to do in a life-threatening scenario, like “If danger is near, do not fear. Hide like Pooh does until the police appear.”
It’s beyond perplexing why a school district would decide that this approach was the best way to educate impressionable children – some as young as five years old – on such a frightening, adult subject. Campos noted that the ill-advised booklet coincided with the anniversary of a tragic Texas school shooting that claimed 19 young lives, raising further questions about the district’s judgement.
Thankfully, in response to the justified outrage, the Dallas Independent School District issued an apology for their misstep: “We did not provide parents any guide or context. We apologize for the confusion and are thankful to parents who reached out to assist us in being better partners.” The district also reassured families that they face the same challenges as every other American school, and are actively working to prevent school shootings through threat assessment and school hardening measures.
**Parents deserve better than this jarring attempt at education. Let’s hope the district learns from their glaring mistake and provides appropriate resources for both children and parents moving forward.**
