Prom Chaperones Gone Wild?

Two prom chaperones are at the heart of a suspected “Gone Wild” adventure. The pair is accused of harassing students during last month’s Manitou Springs High School Prom. The charges stem from how the pair tried to stop the kids from what they thought was dirty and provocative dancing. Hannah Rockey and Jennifer Farmer are linked to the charges.

Jennifer Farmer would only say this to me about the charges, ” After all this is over, I will make a statement. Right now I’ve been under advisement to not say anything.”

Farmer and Rockey are also accused of spraying Lysol on the students to get them to stop suggestive and dirty dancing. I talked with Jennifer Farmer’s long-time neighbor about what police and students are alleging about her friend, Jennifer. Christie Mayfield told me she doesn’t buy it. She told me, “Chaperoning to me is an adult chaperoning children and trying to set an example for them. I’ve never known Jennifer to do anything inappropriate.” Mayfield also says there was no Lysol sprayed on anyone at the prom. She says, “They sprayed air freshener over the head. They tried to use a bullhorn to get their attention but the music was too loud.”

Mayfield also told me about her concerns when she chaperoned at a Manitou Prom three years ago. She said, “There’s no policy as to what chaperoning means. I took my job seriously. I saw the same behavior that Jennifer and Hannah Rockey experienced at the prom.” Mayfield says the elephant in the room about this whole situation is that Manitou, D-14 doesn’t address obscene or vulgar gestures like dirty dancing in its Student Code Of Conduct. I made some calls and found that Colorado Springs largest school system, D-11, does have that specificity about obscene or vulgar gestures in its policy.

I learned that Jennifer Farmer has a long link with the Manitou School District. She was a two-term school board member from 2003 to 2011.

Manitou District 14 did send me a statement about this situation.

Here is that statement in its entirety: “The Manitou Springs School District is aware of complaints made by students regarding alleged actions taken by certain parent chaperones during its high school prom last month. The alleged actions by parent chaperones during the high school prom are in no way condoned by the district. It is unfortunate that the parent chaperones did not report to school personnel their concerns regarding what they believe to be inappropriate dancing. School personnel supervising the dance did not observe any of the alleged actions by the parent chaperones. Once notified by students of the alleged actions, the school staff took immediate steps to address student concerns. As an outcome of this incident, the district is taking steps to instruct parent volunteers on the proper protocol for chaperoning events. The district wants its students to have a fun, safe, and memorable experience while attending special events and regrets if any student’s experience was negatively affected by any unauthorized parent chaperone actions.”