TACOMA, Wash. Dec 10, 2004 — A teaching assistant gave some preschoolers dog food to eat during a play-acting exercise at Northeast Tacoma Elementary School. A Tacoma School District spokeswoman said the children spat out the dry dog food and no one suffered any ill effects.
The teaching assistant has been placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
District spokeswoman Patti Holmgren said it happened Monday in an early education class while the supervisor was out of the room.
When a few of the students pretended to be puppies, getting down on their hands and knees and barking, the assistant attempted to encourage their playacting. She fetched a packet of dry dog food from another room and placed bits on paper plates on the floor.
The dog food came from a display intended to teach the preschoolers what not to eat, Holmgren said.
School Principal Pat Flores learned about the incident Tuesday after a parent complained. In a letter sent Wednesday to parents, Flores called the event "unfortunate."
- Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=320559
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