Face of The Devil

Pushed To The Edge: Melissa Smackley

New school years always seemed to put Melissa on edge , but realistically what didn't. We had finally made it over the craziness of the open house for our 2018 school year and finally getting into the groove of the new school year. 

By the time this school year she seemed to know that she could get away with anything at this point and she had the feeling of invincibility. There were so many times that she stepped out of line such as making a child use bleach to clean, using the back of a child's shirt to attach them to a chair so they couldn't move, or kicking toys near children. 

All of the staff were always on their "A" game when she made her way down the hall. You had to keep a spotless classroom no matter what. Meaning even when the kids were playing they had to play in a seat with a toy and not have it spilled out on the floor. Nothing could be sprawled out on the floor. All the children had to be at the table if they had a toy and dramatic play was non-existent because that would wreck havoc in the room in her mind. During arts and crafts the staff would crawl all over the floor making sure not one drop of paint, crayon, or playdoh ever hit the floor. The stress just crawled up your back everyday.

Melissa walked outside to the playground and saw a child who had only one leg and a prosthetic leg on the other and just stood beside me saying "I hope he falls off the playset. Look how he walks all wonky and wobbly."

I would be stunned and walk away from her and toward the children making sure they were being careful on the slide. If you talked back she would take you off the schedule or say "just kidding". She then followed my toddler class back to the classroom and she said loudly, " He has been annoying as fuck all day I want to break his other fucking leg."

She was referring to the child with the prosthetic and she would leave out the side door toward the playground, get in her black Chevy, and go smoke a cigarette in the Arby's parking lot.

Finally I started to slip because no one was listening to me. Not the church, not the church board members, not even state licensing. 

I was walking the preschool class down the hallway with my coworker Emilee. Melissa was reorganizing a book shelf that she kept in the hallway full of books for the kids that teachers would pull to read during circle time. Melissa had a few books near the base of the shelf on the floor near her feet as she was placing more books back in the shelf as one of our students accidently stripped on a book that was on the floor. 

Melissa without hesitating took the child by her arm and pushed her against the wall shoving her into the wall. She screamed in the child's face telling her how stupid she was for not paying attention. The little girl was four years old and terrified. She cried for an hour afterwards and then continually throughout the rest of the day. 

The child's mom was the daughter of a board member and questioned us on why her daughter was so upset when she picked her up after lunch. We tried to tell her, but as we started Melissa called us out of the room and to her office. She told us it wasn't our business and it wasn't what it seemed. It was exactly what it seemed

The mother then called again on the phone an hour later saying when they got home her daughter was distraught and Melissa stood beside us as we answered the phone and hung it up in front of us. We called state again, but no one listened. I was done. I had written down recent incident I had seen and typed it up, printed it out, and drove to this mothers house. I demanded to speak to her and her father who was the board member. It was time that someone listened and I assumed that a board member who's own granddaughter who was finally physically touched would listen and do something about it. 

Emilee my coworker and I went and had a meeting at their home giving them a twelve page document of everything we had witnessed just recently so at least everything was dated correctly. We of course had more stories but I remembered Pastor saying no hear say and there were no security cameras in the building so the best I could do was time stamp everything and call state. 

When they read the document I had written along with the other staff members they appeared shocked and seemed to listen. Our nerves seemed settled as they told us that they had our backs and they would help us. That's not what happened

Pastor Rick was so upset that I went about it to a board member and not to him once again. What happened do you think? Nothing. 

Pastor Rick gave Melissa a warning and said that if anything was done again by her she would be removed. She kept going and I was done not being listened to.

She again felt untouchable and dangled it in front of our faces and she knew one of us turned her in to the Pastor. She would come in to our classroom and yank a child out and plop them in her office for hours because they were being "unruly". The child would miss lunch or recess. We would hold the child's meal in the classroom waiting for the child to come back so they could eat during nap. 

Finally when I knew I couldn't take it I took a risk and a stand. I made a copy of my twelve page document about Melissa and as a parent walked past my classroom I had it rolled up in a cylinder and handed it to her like a baton. 

I felt like I could trust this parent and she could get things done. 

I watched out my classroom window as the parent unraveled the papers and immediately made phone calls to a lawyer, the church, parents, and her husband. Her sister then came and took her own kids and cousins out of the center and didn't return until Melissa was removed from her position.

The next day Melissa came in with a box weeping and giving hugs to the staff. She felt like she was wrongfully fired, but none of the staff gave her any real sympathy and I think we all took a breath for the first time in a long time. 

What I didn't know is that the church now would put a target on my back for challenging their authority.