According to school officials, a group of disabled children went to a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, and were turned away. This caused a stir in the community and prompted a planned protest.
In a statement released Thursday, Maria V. Navarrow, the superintendent of Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), said that two days prior, seven employees and eleven students with disabilities had visited the eatery. The field trip was a component of a community-based learning program designed to improve life skills, such as social interaction in public places like restaurants and retail stores.
According to Navarro, personnel informed the Cracker Barrel location of the group’s plans, including the visit’s goal and headcount, before the visit. CCPS claims that they were informed that a reservation was not required.
The party was able to order takeout, but when the students and staff arrived, they were refused service and told to remove the restaurant from their CBI list, according to Navarro.
More information was provided in a Facebook post by Stacey Campbell, a parent of one of the students involved, who received an email from a CCPS employee.
The general manager read a section of the letter explaining that the group was sat in a closed space in the back of the restaurant while their takeaway order was being filled, and I asked to speak with the manager on duty while I waited.
The CCPS employee claimed that the staff was extremely impolite and disregarded every student. After speaking with a general manager, they were informed that the restaurant does not serve this kind of crowd.
According to Navarro, faculty members spoke with a Cracker Barrel district manager following the incident in order to get more details and voice concerns with the way the students were treated there. She went on to say that the management expressed their willingness to collaborate with CCPS in order to improve.
Navarro said that other businesses and eateries have contacted her to offer their locations for next CCPS student field excursions, saying that no one should have to endure the alleged abuse of CCPS students and employees at Cracker Barrel.
We anticipate speaking with Cracker Barrel. The letter was concluded by Navarro.
A CCPS dad named Dustin Reed told NBC Washington on Friday, “It broke my heart.” Since the event, Reed and Johnna Penrod have been providing comfort to their nonverbal 7-year-old daughter.
Reed claimed that they were pushed aside and just ignored. Their sole desire was to enter, eat, enjoy themselves, and gain knowledge from their experience.
“It doesn’t mean that they’re less than us just because they have different abilities,” Penrod told NBC Washington. They should be cherished and cared for, and they should be treated like everyone else. They are deserving of encouragement.
Cracker Barrel expressed regret for letting the pupils down.
Our missteps last week were unfortunate but were unrelated to the students capabilities, a representative for Cracker Barrel told TODAY.com, adding that the refusal of service to the party of 18 was due to staffing issues and a partially closed second dining room.
The representative went on to say that misunderstandings and misperceptions resulted from our poor communication and disregard for basic operational norms. Although they did not elaborate, they stated that they are collaborating with the community to improve and learn.
Conversely, Reed expressed his belief that the civil rights of children were flagrantly neglected.
The group went to a dollar store before Cracker Barrel that day without any problems, according to Pernod, and their daughter has loved trips to many other places, including fast-food restaurants.
There s nothing that a district manager or someone in their HR department is going to say that is going to fix this. The damage is done, Pernod told TODAY.com. This isn t Oh, I stepped on your toe in the movie theater, I apologize. This isn t that type of thing that you can just sweep underneath the rug with an I m sorry, in my opinion.
Reed isplanning a protest of the Cracker Barrel locationwhere the incident occurred on Sunday, and 75 people say they re interested in attending as of this writing.
The discussion board on the event, as well asother postsby Reed, are filled withsupportive comments,outrageandvows never to visit Cracker Barrel again.
This group of students and teachers were, are, and always will be welcome to dine with us, the Cracker Barrel representative said. We will make things right, and we look forward to earning back their trust and confidence.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!