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Teacher honoured after cutting waist-long hair in support of bullied pupil

When five-year-old Prisilla Perez said she was being bullied for her pixie cut, teacher Shannon Grimm took action.
When five-year-old Prisilla Perez said she was being bullied for her pixie cut, teacher Shannon Grimm took action. When five-year-old Prisilla Perez said she was being bullied for her pixie cut, teacher Shannon Grimm took action.

A school teacher has been praised after cutting her waist-long locks in support of a five-year-old pupil who was being bullied for her own short hair.

US nursery teacher Shannon Grimm noticed that her usually bright and cheery pupil Prisilla Perez was acting “more quiet and sad” after getting her pixie haircut, and was keen to find out why.

After discovering that other students were making fun of her new hairstyle, Ms Grimm “took matters into her own hands to restore Prisilla’s confidence by cutting her own hair short to match”, said Willis Independent Schools District in Willis, Texas.

Speaking to CNN, Ms Grimm said: “About that time, friends started to call her a boy.”

Kindergarten student Prisilla Perez was a happy little girl when the school year began. However, after getting her hair…Posted by Willis Independent School District on Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Explaining her decision to cut her hair to match Prisilla’s, she said: “I am going to do other things for my friends in my classroom other than just teach them. I am going to show them the love and support that they need in order to learn.”

Ms Grimm’s commitment to making the youngster feel good about herself even saw her buying matching hair bows for the pair to wear each day.

The act of generosity earned Ms Grimm a medal from her school’s governing board, as well as another from young Prisilla for “being a hero”.

Announcing the awards, school authorities said they were “proud” of their teacher “for her willingness to go above and beyond to brighten a child’s world”.