Like all good stories, this one is full of emotion. First it’s cute, then it’s happy, then it’s upsetting, and then it finally wraps up with a happy ending.
When the kids of Field Club Elementary school in Nebraska heard that Brad Paisley was headed to their area as part of his college tour, the students got together and made a video inviting the singer to visit their school.
As an elementary school that focuses on getting their kids ready for college from a young age (as well as decorating their entire school with college items to inspire their students), they thought it would be the perfect fit.
Because it was a feel-good story, the local Fox news station got involved and tried to get word to Brad Paisley. While it isn’t clear if Paisley saw the video at the time, a local cable company did see the video and decided to give the kids the next best thing to having Paisley at their school … they’d invite the kids to Paisley’s concert at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Frontier Communications had a booth set up at the concert and invited the entire school, staff and students alike, to the show. They even offered to bus the lucky kids and teachers back and forth from Thursday (10/14) night’s concert.
Unfortunately, the kids never got to go to the show because the school’s principal, Barbara Wild, decided it wasn’t appropriate for kids to be up that late on a school night and chose to not to tell them or their parents about the kind offer. Instead, 55 members of the school’s staff were set to attend in their place.
Local station KCTV 5 caught wind of the outcome of the story last Wednesday and talked with both the principal and a few parents. Wild said she came to her decision after talking with some parents, but other parents said they were never told about the concert opportunity and were disappointed that they weren’t included in a decision of what was best for their children.
“That’s a parent’s choice, and if a parent makes that personal decision, then that’s on the parent,” said one parent (quote via CMN). “The school has no right to make that decision for a parent.“
Like I said, this story does have a happy ending. In the end, Brad Paisley heard about the kids’ video from his dad and on Friday, 10/14, the kids ended up getting their visit from Paisley.
The singer happily tweeted about the experience.
…so, surprise! …about to make the first ever “Country Nation Grade School tour” stop …at Field Club Elementary.
— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) October 14, 2016
Got a gig. #countrynationgradeschooltour pic.twitter.com/yCsRMVv4vX
— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) October 14, 2016
Welcome to the weekend Field Club Elementary! pic.twitter.com/36p6j0vT4W
— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) October 14, 2016
Was hoping for salisbury steak and tater tots today, but I was too late.#countrynationgradeschooltour pic.twitter.com/Tzw8Ls0r4R
— Brad Paisley (@BradPaisley) October 14, 2016
While the story had a happy outcome, do you think the principal was right to make the decision to not let the kids attend the show or should she have given parents the right to decide?
