Face of The Devil

Beginning of the End: Melissa Smackley

The director of a church based child care center not only targeted children but she also verbally and physically attacked staff during short time with the center. 

Right when Melissa started the very next week after beginning her position she started targeting which employees she wanted out. This didn't have to particularly have to do with what the person work ethnic was like this was do to their skin color, size, or if they were a college student. 

Melissa didn't like a college worker named Shannon because she was only able to close the center and work part time. Shannon would come in and work 2:30-5:45pm and this was great because this is the time employees would be leaving the morning shift and we needed to fill the afternoon gap. Since it's such a small gap it's actually hard to find someone who wants such little hours most of the time. College students are usually perfect to fill this position. 

Shannon worked usually with the preschool ages and was never a cause for concern. When Melissa started making the schedules for work she decided to leave Shannon off the schedule. Instead of laying off Shannon or firing her Melissa would run out her office door and flee to her car before Shannon could approach her about it. Shannon still came to work and did her job because she was not told otherwise.

Melissa demanded that the other staff members should tell Shannon that she no longer worked for the daycare. I remember my eyes got really big as Melissa was about to bolt out the side door to her car for a smoke break telling me that I had to break the news to Shannon. I was mortified but Shannon didn't want to put up with that behavior from our Director and I didn't blame her. 

There were multiple occasions where Melissa would hire them and watch them for a few days. If they dressed a little different or just weren't up to their standards then she would hold the schedule till Friday. The new employees would call Monday and Melissa would make one of us answer the phone feeding the words to say. Over the phone we would have to tell them that they no longer worked for us and they would cry. I would say, " sorry" and hang up. It broke my heart to see people get fired for no cause and the Director refused to speak with them. When they asked for the Director I would make things up saying, "She's not in today" or "Honestly she doesn't want to speak with you I'm sorry". 

I couldn't believe that we were put in that situation. 

If you were pregnant and you were going in for a interview with her you should've just run the other way. She was absolutely nasty to anyone who was pregnant and felt that they were "lazy". 

She would still hire them and were them out in less then a month or sometimes just a week. One employee who was about 20 weeks would be constantly yelled at if she had to use the restroom once a day. It was ridiculous to Melissa if she had to step into a classroom to release you to use the restroom to keep the classroom in ratio.

I was standing in my classroom full of toddlers and my new pregnant Teachers Aide. Melissa walked in as I had the kids all lined up to walk across the hall to go to the gym. We walked to the gym all together and we let the kids play. All of the sudden Melissa runs in yelling at Jasmine my aide. Melissa grabbed Jasmine by the arm and dragged her back to the classroom. 

Swinging her by the arm Melissa flung Jasmine into the classroom to show her a toy fell off a shelf and needed picked up. She pressed Jasmine to the floor and Jasmine fell to her knees to pick up a little toy cup to put back on the shelf. 

This wasn't first or the last time Melissa would do this to her. It was done to humiliate and make her feel small. Jasmine would cry to me telling me how she just moved to town and how hard it was being a minority in a predominantly white town. She wasn't wrong Melissa didn't just have an issue with her being pregnant she had an issue with the color of her skin. That made my stomach twist in knots. Was a good worker, beautiful soul, and so full of life. She didn't deserve what Melissa did to her. Jasmine lasted two weeks at our center until she stood up for her self and never showed up back to work without notice. I knew though. 

Hate and evil ran deep in Melissa and was a driving force in many of the things that she did.

Meanwhile everything that was happening with staff and students was being swept under the rug. I was becoming a problem staff member for the church. The church wanted me gone and they were making it known. My father was no longer a pastor for the church so they could easily dispose of me. They made that known later. 

Christmas is supposed to be a cheerful and bright time of the year. When the Christmas program came around for the students all the the teachers and staff were on edge. We tried our best with behavioral management and rewards for the kids so that she would never set her sights and target a child and their behavior near a child. During the holidays she was worse then usual. 

The stage for the Christmas program was set and it was drawing close to when the children would need to preform. We had the children in front of the stage sitting down as each class got up on stage to practice.

She was in the storage closet grabbing a small Christmas tree to add to the tree and she could hear the chatter of children. You could see the agitation in her face. She was irritated and all of the staff and I made direct eye contact with one another. We knew her lid was about to go.

She started marching behind us with all the kids staring at her as her head was whipping back and forth with her fist in the air.

She said, "FUCK IT ALL FUCK ALL OF YOU". 

It echoed in the gym because all of us were dead silent and there was no cheerful singing. 

Kids started to cry and we held onto them for reassurance that everything would be okay we were their only sense of safety when she was around. 

She slammed a shelf down nearby that broke onto the floor and she left. She didn't come back for about two hours. She did not even attend the Christmas program practices up until the day of because she could not take it anymore according to her. 

This seemed to be the start of her breaking point. You could see her to start to crack. This was her second winter with the Center, states been called on her, the church has had to handle complaints about her, and she was assumingly overwhelmed.