Waldork Cracker Barrel refuses to served disabled students

[vraiblonde]

Community Outrage After Waldorf Cracker Barrel Denies Service To Students With Disabilities - The BayNet

Students with disabilities from Dr. James Craik Elementary were reportedly denied service at the Waldorf Cracker Barrel, sparking community outrage and calls for accountability.

thebaynet.com

I'm curious why. Is the manager just an incompetent jerk or is there more to the story? This jumped out at me:

Madelynn’s mother, Johnna Penrod, emphasized the importance of these outings for the students. “This is terrible and shouldn’t be tolerated. We’re in 2024. At some point, it has to be understood that it shouldn’t be us preparing them [the children] for the world, but the world accommodating them,” she said.

Yeah, that's not how it works. The world doesn't stop for an individual, it's up to the individual to navigate life and meet their own challenges.

Anyway, no comment from the manager who made this decision and no doubt corporate has told her to stay out of it and their lawyers will take over. My guess is the students were disruptive, which is understandable and probably to be expected, and staff didn't want to deal with it.

Despite prior assurances that a reservation was unnecessary,

That seems foolish to me. Of course if a large group is coming in - especially when they will have special needs - you'd want a heads up so you can make arrangements for them. Maybe there's a party room for them, or put them in a more secluded area with fewer triggers and distractions. But I'm guessing we're not talking about the cream of the employment crop here and it also sounds like whoever arranged this outing wasn't as detail oriented as perhaps they should be.

 

[Kyle]

The teacher further alleged that Tranesia Scriber, the general manager, dismissed the group’s efforts to explain the nature of their outing, saying, “We cannot accommodate to your group and will not be serving them. Please have our establishment removed from the list because we don’t accommodate to this type of group.”

I'll note that this is a refrenced comment, by the aggreieved and would have to be verified, but the statement above, if true seems pretty damning.

 

[OccamsRazor]

Found this tid-bit interesting:

"Reed and Penrod have expressed hope that larger media outlets will take notice of the incident. However, according to Reed, at least one network news organization indicated they would only cover the story if the family could organize a protest of 100 or more people.

In response, Reed and other community members are organizing a demonstration outside the restaurant. “We’re looking to do it on a Sunday, probably around the time that church would be getting out,” Reed said, noting support from several local residents."

Interesting that the "news network" will only cover the story if there is a protest AND there has to be at least XX number of people. And, they were only too willing to accommodate.

 

[sunshine98]

WTOP and USA Today picked up the story over the weekend.

 

[vraiblonde]

I'll note that this is a refrenced comment, by the aggreieved and would have to be verified, but the statement above, if true seems pretty damning.

I mean, it's okay if they won't or can't accommodate special needs. As a corporate restaurant that's probably a big no-no, but this is something that should have been confirmed before the group showed up. Whoever set this up would call and speak to the manager, don't take the dishwasher's word for it, then make arrangements. At that point the manager would say they can't accommodate the group, and another restaurant is chosen. Crisis averted.

They're making it sound like specific discrimination against the handicapped, and it may well be just that, but it could also be that they simply can't accommodate a group that size with special needs for whatever reason. And even that could have been cleared up with a phone call instead of just showing up. Common sense says you would do that for any large group.

 

[thurley42]

Madelynn’s mother, Johnna Penrod, emphasized the importance of these outings for the students. “This is terrible and shouldn’t be tolerated. We’re in 2024. At some point, it has to be understood that it shouldn’t be us preparing them [the children] for the world, but the world accommodating them,” she said.

Well, I was completely on their side until I read this.........that's not how life works for anyone....

I mean, it's okay if they won't or can't accommodate special needs. As a corporate restaurant that's probably a big no-no, but this is something that should have been confirmed before the group showed up. Whoever set this up would call and speak to the manager, don't take the dishwasher's word for it, then make arrangements. At that point the manager would say they can't accommodate the group, and another restaurant is chosen. Crisis averted.

They're making it sound like specific discrimination against the handicapped, and it may well be just that, but it could also be that they simply can't accommodate a group that size with special needs for whatever reason. And even that could have been cleared up with a phone call instead of just showing up. Common sense says you would do that for any large group.

The article does say that they were given prior assurances that their group would be fine....it doesn't detail how that was done, but does say it. Plus, it says that their are only 5 children in the program.....How many more parents and staff could their be? 5? I wouldn't see how any place would have issues sitting down a group of 10-15....

 

[Grumpy]

There's a lot more to this story than what we are seeing, IMO

 

[frequentflier]

My Solomons store used to be an "outing" for special needs people. I asked the people in charge every time they came in to call us beforehand. They never did. We'd see the vans pull in on the cameras. Despite spending NO money, the people touched things, moved them around and were largely unsupervised since the ratio of caretakers vs the handicapped/ challenged was not close to being even. While I and my co workers were sympathetic, it was a little disruptive to the store.

I'm sure Cracker Barrel will have more egg on their face because of this.

 

[Monello]

this type of group

Sort of sounds like the 2024 version of 'you people'.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...


I'm guessing that there is a whole lot of embellishment going on here by those "offended". Since everyone has a camera today, why wasn't any of the interaction recorded? Also, 40% of the students at this school, Dr. James Craik Elementary, are black, while 36% are White. I'm going out on a limb here, but are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Ancillary: Maybe it also has to do with the restaurant being spitt'in distance from Smallwood Dr? You know, a road named after General Smallwood. The same General Smallwood that has a school named after him that now the school system wants to rename because . . . he was a slaveholder?

 

[gary_webb]

My Solomons store used to be an "outing" for special needs people. I asked the people in charge every time they came in to call us beforehand. They never did. We'd see the vans pull in on the cameras. Despite spending NO money, the people touched things, moved them around and were largely unsupervised since the ratio of caretakers vs the handicapped/ challenged was not close to being even. While I and my co workers were sympathetic, it was a little disruptive to the store.

I'm sure Cracker Barrel will have more egg on their face because of this.

I wonder if they were the same group I had an encounter with.

I had taken my mother and grandmother to the Captain's Table for lunch years ago and a small group of special needs people came in and were seated right behind us. One was a teenage boy who muttered profanities and another a teenage girl that shrieked constantly.

When I politely told the hostess we would be sitting somewhere else, she balked. When I said it wouldn't necessarily be there, we got moved

Definitely more to this story.

 

[Merlin99]

Ok, I'll be the first to say it Tranesia?

 

[Grumpy]

Ok, I'll be the first to say it Tranesia?

Yeah, you're the first to say it but I believe everyone was thinking it.

 

[Monello]

Ok, I'll be the first to say it Tranesia?

It just rolls off your tongue. But where is the dash +/or apostrophe? Typo?

 

[Kyle]

Ok, I'll be the first to say it Tranesia?

So... Genesia went Trans?

 

[vraiblonde]

When I politely told the hostess we would be sitting somewhere else, she balked.

Why would she balk?

This is what ticks me off about humans - there's a solution that will make everyone happy....and they balk. WTF, just go do what you're told

 

[gary_webb]

Why would she balk?

This is what ticks me off about humans - there's a solution that will make everyone happy....and they balk. WTF, just go do what you're told

She said there was no other table available, but I had already looked and saw one.

Caught her fibbing, I guess? Don't really know.

Edit: Maybe thought if we moved everyone else would want to move too. Bet that was it. And we hadn't order get.

 

[black dog]

I wonder if they were the same group I had an encounter with.

I had taken my mother and grandmother to the Captain's Table for lunch years ago and a small group of special needs people came in and were seated right behind us. One was a teenage boy who muttered profanities and another a teenage girl that shrieked constantly.

When I politely told the hostess we would be sitting somewhere else, she balked. When I said it wouldn't necessarily be there, we got moved

Definitely more to this story.

Old Mom sums it up with her statement...
"It has to be understood that it shouldn’t be us preparing them [the children] for the world, but the world accommodating them,”

 

[gary_webb]

Old Mom sums it up with her statement...
"It has to be understood that it shouldn’t be us preparing them [the children] for the world, but the world accommodating them,”

That was exactly the attitude of the so-called chaperones.

 

[black dog]

Old Mom sums it up with her statement...
"It has to be understood that it shouldn’t be us preparing them [the children] for the world, but the world accommodating them,”

Instead of old mom being a parent and teach those who can be worth of some work ethic, old mom is teaching hers to me dependent on the taxpayers for life.
We now have buses out here that pickup the handicapped and drive them to the library to listen to story time, drive around and look at farm fields and animals, the windmills and other completely necessary things that one who is non verbal, non anything needs to be doing.
Its just taking two people and a short bus at a huge cost to the taxpayer that is nothing more than the fleecing of the taxpayer.
Just our town of 4,800 has two county buses doing that 5 days a week.