Melissa Smyly is teaching English at the Upper School in addition to serving as head girls' lacrosse coach.
“I am excited to welcome Melissa to the Darlington Community,” said Matt Peer, Upper School director. “I am confident that she will be an amazing role model for her students in the classroom, and the girls that she will live and work with on the lacrosse field and in Cooper House.”
Smyly holds a B.S. in Secondary Language Arts from Auburn University and an M.A. in Library Media Technology from the University of West Alabama.
“In some ways I guess I have always been a teacher,” Smyly said. “I am the oldest child in my family and even when my brothers and I were young, I was always teaching them how to do things (or maybe just bossing them around). My mom, aunt, and grandmother were all teachers, so I suppose it is somewhat in my blood.”
Smyly has 12 years of experience teaching literature, grammar, and writing to students in grades 7-12, most recently serving as language arts department coordinator at The Donaho School in Anniston, Ala.
“My philosophy as an educator is that all students can be successful," said Smyly. “My job as an educator is to unlock whatever is inside of each of my students so they are able to achieve success."
Living in Cooper House is something that Smyly is excited about, having spent summers as program director for Camp Mae in Munford, Ala.
“I grew up going to summer camp every summer and then worked at that same camp as a college student and as an adult,” said Smyly. “My family even lived on camp grounds year round for a while. I always loved the dynamics of having so many different people living together and exposing everyone to different cultures, attitudes, and ways of life. That is what I am most looking forward to about teaching and coaching at Darlington, having the opportunity to play a role in the development of so many different people.”
Smyly’s husband Stephen is the human resources director for Urban Cookhouse restaurant. They have three children; Emily Ann (‘22), Jake (‘24), and two-year-old Loftin.
