‘Trying to Make an Example of Her’: Chicago School Salutatorian Banned from Prom and Graduation After ‘Harmless Prank’; Mom Blames Principal’s Personal Vendetta
The salutatorian at one Chicago high school and several of her classmates were banned from prom and graduation after pulling a year-end prank that the school’s principal deemed an “egregious act of vandalism.”
DailyMail.com reported that more than a dozen seniors who attend the University of Chicago Charter School’s Woodlawn Campus decorated their school hallways with silly string, balloons, red solo cups, sticky notes, streamers, and toilet paper for their senior prank.
The prank landed the students in hot water with school leadership, and some of them were banned from attending prom, including the school’s 2024 salutatorian Krystal Scott.
Scott’s mother, the UC Charter School’s Director of Admission, tried negotiating with UC Principal Shavaughn Monson, opting for alternative measures like community service or having the parents pay for the cleanup. Other parents also protested the punishment.
Monson denied Scott’s request and filed a misconduct complaint against her. HR told Scott that the complaint stemmed from Scott’s discussion with Monson about the prank and disciplinary actions, and Scott was placed on administrative leave.
“She got offended when I told her that this school year hadn’t been that great. She said, ‘That’s a dig at me,’ and I said, ‘It’s not personal, she’s not running the school by herself,’” Carla Scott said. “I told her I was going to fight this as much as I can.”
Monson also complained about a video Monson posted to her TikTok account that was sent to some board members and school staff. In that video, the principal filmed herself at a gym talking about “broke n***as.” The video began circulating among parents, and some lodged complaints against Monson and the school.
It’s unclear who personally sent the video to the school’s faculty, but Scott denied having a role in its circulation.
Krystal Scott told the Daily Mail that weeks after the prank Monson allowed some of the punished students to go to prom after they completed community service. Others weren’t given that same treatment, including Krystal.
On the night of prom, Krystal said she heard from a teacher and other students that the ban had been lifted, so she stopped by the event for about an hour.
“We heard that they were letting people into the prom, and they didn’t care anymore because they wanted people to have fun, so anyone who could make it in time could come,” Krystal said.
The school said that wasn’t the case. Administrators suspended the prom coordinator for allowing banned students inside, then banned Krystal and a few other seniors from their graduation ceremony.
Krystal’s family was told that she couldn’t attend graduation rehearsals or give the salutatorian speech. Her mother took her to one anyway, hoping that school leadership might drop the ban, but uniformed officers stationed outside the rehearsal space turned them away.
Scott said Monson was also outside the rehearsal and refused to speak to Krystal or her family. Scott alleged that the animosity between herself and Monson throughout the school year contributed to how Monson treated her daughter. She said Monson was “dead-set against” Krystal “participating in anything.”
“It feels personal, not just to me but my daughter… they’re trying to make an example of her,” Scott said.
“The punishment we received was very excessive, and now something I worked so hard for has been taken away from me,” Krystal said.
A UC official contested the Scotts’ version of events and allegations of retaliation.
“Unfortunately, we had an incident during which students caused significant damage to UCCS property. We take such incidents seriously and have administered discipline to students consistent with our policies,” the official told the Daily Mail. “We are grateful to our UCCS staff who attempted to stop the destruction and to the UCCS staff who had to remediate the damage that was done.”