Mama Bears
Last Tuesday, February 8th, the following was posted by a teacher on Fort Collins High School’s Facebook site:
Unified Lambkins
Today February 8th, 2022–
I am an Autism/ILS high school teacher for PSD (Poudre School District) and our students have the opportunity to go out in the community each day. We practice what the expectations of appropriate behavior are while out in the community— sometimes we will do scavenger hunts so students can work on locating an item in a store aisle, Dollar Up, and greater than/less than.
We walked into this Staples with the intention of doing all these things when approached by the manager that they were not a “field trip store” and since our group (which we split our class into two groups, so we don’t overwhelm businesses) which bought items the day prior. I told him we were going to buy things and asked why we could not come in to work on community-based skills. He said since he’s a privately owned business and kept track of numbers of people coming in and out for sale numbers, etc. I asked if every person that comes in buys something which he said usually yes.
I tried to explain that we go to many businesses so our students can be exposed to different settings and families feel okay taking their children places. Another staff member asked about large families, if he treated them the same way as to which he had no answer to. We put back our supplies that we were going to purchase and left. I have done community-based outings to many locations in Fort Collins and HAVE NEVER been treated like this. It’s discrimination against a special population of humans who get complimented often in how well behaved they are in the community— and even on the days we have moments we use it as a learning opportunity for the next time (with social stories, checklists, and new plans of actions).
All humans should be treated with grace, dignity and respect no matter their intellectual capabilities. I was shaking and cried telling my students how sorry I was that they experienced something like this out in the community today. Please make a change to your reasoning behind this manager approaching us today— all humans have room for growth and I hope that you change your mind in making our community a learning opportunity for all.
Sincerely,
Alejandra McGee
FCHS Autism & ILS Program
I copied and pasted her post as written. It’s obvious that she was still quite upset.
This post was immediately shared to a local Facebook group that I belong to for parents of children with special needs.
All the mama bears showed up in a fury! Here are some of their comments:
That’s too bad that the manager felt this way. I had on my list to go this week. I guess Office Depot it is!
I have two autistic boys and this just breaks my heart. This was uncalled for and definitely unprofessional on the part of the store manager. I do hope this was reported to the Staples corporate office.
Just got off the phone with headquarters.
They just lost my business.
It’s super sad how people have lost their ability to have compassion for others. I won’t be shopping at this store anymore.
Called and talked to a manager and he said there was no number for me to call, nowhere to file a complaint, and that he is not making any comments at this time. Then hung up.
I feel like since it is super important for their numbers for customers walking in and out to buy something, we should all go together and continuously go in and out without buying things to throw their numbers off, since that is more important than treating our children with respect.
Well, there’s one store we are never shopping at again! Thanks for sharing. Shame on them!
How do we go about petitioning PSD to change suppliers?
We won’t be purchasing there anymore. But we will go in this weekend multiple times and walk around.
The story was picked up by CBS and the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper.
Per the Coloradoan, eight students went to Staples on Monday without incident. On Tuesday eight students went to Staples accompanied by a teacher and a paraprofessional. They were confronted by a manger who said they were not a field trip store and stated that the group the day before didn’t buy anything.
The teacher told the manager that they intended to buy something. The teacher told the Coloradoan that the group on Monday had made purchases.
When contacted the store manager declined to comment to the Coloradoan, citing corporate policy that prohibits him from talking to reporters.
Per the article, “Meghan Meikleham, Staples’ Director of Public Relations and Community, said supporting schools, students and educators is at the core of our Staples business. The company strives to provide a welcoming environment to everyone in the community.” She said she was disappointed to hear that students and their teachers felt otherwise (on Tuesday).
Meikleham stated, “Staples takes all allegations of discrimination seriously and we are looking into claims of unacceptable behavior. We will work closely with the school district to further investigate and take necessary action”.
The Poudre School district does contract with Staples for staff supplies. Per the Coloradoan, some online have called on the district to cancel purchase orders as a result of the alleged incident.
Molly Bohannon of the Coloradoan posted an update to the article today. Staples has issued an apology to PSD and those involved. Per PSD spokesperson Madeline Noblett, “Staples has reached out to the school district directly to apologize and have invited the students back to the store”. Noblett is hopeful that this experience will ultimately be an opportunity for growth. Noblett states, “We are a learning organization that is committed to fostering learning in PSD schools, as well as in our communities.”
Per Meikleham of Staples, “As an organization, we are using last Tuesday as a learning experience for all Staples associates to ensure that Staples is a welcoming space for everyone.”
Though Meikleham said the store would be “honored and grateful if PSD would consider a return visit”, Noblett told the Coloradoan that PSD staff are still determining whether students will return to the Staples store for similar visits in the future.
As of today, the original post on Facebook has more than 200 comments, many of which say they intend to boycott the store and has been shared nearly 900 times.
Travis was part of similar visits to community stores when he attended school. I have owned two different retail businesses. I can’t imagine under any circumstance that I, or one of my employees, would ask a class of students with intellectual disabilities to leave the store. It wouldn’t matter if they were planning to make a purchase. It wouldn’t matter if we were busy.
Travis is very sensitive to how he is treated. Anywhere. Just today he told me about an experience he had in a business this past weekend. He also told me that he never planned to shop there again.
I don’t believe the manager at Staples had any malicious intent. I wonder about the culture at Staples. How much pressure is there on their management staff to perform? Enough pressure, it seems, that a manager would worry about whether a group coming into the store would be making a purchase.
I also get why the mama bears came out in full force. We have seen our children be treated differently for years. Even discriminated against. If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you will remember me highlighting some of the incidents that our family experienced.
When our kids hurt, we hurt. Period.
We can choose to spend our dollars wherever we want.
I am not a regular shopper at Staples. They will not miss me. But I do have to admit that I was tempted to go in and just walk around.
Then I slept on it. And remembered that it would only make the manager feel worse than I imagine he already does.
I always say that raising Travis has made me a better person. A more compassionate person. I am constantly preaching that kindness matters. After considering the entire situation, I decided to practice what I preach.
“Not so much a mama bear, more like a mama llama. Pretty chill and calm, but I’ll kick you in the face if you mess with my kids.” - Author Unknown
“Every mother worth her salt has a bit of mama bear in her - loving and wise but fiercely protective of her cubs when she senses danger.” - Ken Ramstead