u/i_exaggerated

I'm teaching my Kindergartner English and we recently came across "thank." The book said that the "a" is a short a, ă, as in "hat." But thank is obviously pronounced with a long a, ā, as in "Hank". Even Cambridge dictionary says the a is a short a, but the pronunciation recording of the whole word sounds like ā

What's with the discrepancy? Do I need to get my hearing checked?

If it helps, I'm from the US in the Midwest.