Close mobile close
  • NEWS
  • Our States
    Who We Are
    Donate

    About Teach Florida

    Teach Florida, a division of Teach Coalition, was founded in 2016 to advocate on behalf of Florida’s nonpublic schools and parents. Our advocacy has helped Florida become the national leader in school choice. With a projected 240,000 state scholarships in 2022-2023, more than a quarter of the country’s nonpublic school scholarships will be in Florida. Florida offers two primary scholarship programs:

    • Private School Scholarships: Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and The Family Empowerment Educational Options (FTC/FES-EO), are for students K-12 in the amount of approximately $7,800 for nonpublic school students attending an eligible private school.
    • The Family Empowerment Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA), is for private school and homeschool students ages 3-22 who have a qualifying disability in the amount of approximately $9,800.

    See our dedicated scholarship page

    Florida Legislators, Jewish Community Leaders, Join Orthodox Union’s Teach Florida at Annual Event to Celebrate $60 Million in 2022 Funding for Jewish Day School Families.

    Sign Our Petition in Support of School Choice

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    By submitting your mobile number, you are agreeing to receive periodic text messages from Teach Coalition. Message & data rates may apply. Privacy Policy

    Our Team

    Dan Mitzner

    COO & Director of Government Affairs, Teach Coalition

    Daniel Aqua

    Director of Special Projects

    x
    Daniel Aqua

    Director of Special Projects

    Danny Aqua is an impassioned advocate for educational opportunities for children, parents and schools. As Field Director at Teach Florida, Danny built a grassroots initiative that engaged parents in the legislative process. In addition to trips to Tallahassee, petition signings and traditional advocacy, Danny has been an integral part in Teach Florida’s get-out-the-vote program that has resulted in doubling and sometimes tripling voter turnout in the Jewish day school community over multiple elections. Danny’s work at Teach Florida enables him to use skills from his two prior careers – law and teaching. Prior to working at Teach Florida, Danny practiced real estate law as an Associate at Blank Rome, LLP and then taught both in elementary and middle schools. Danny received his Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Baruch College magna cum laude, his Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School Order of the Coif and his Masters Degree in Education from Azrieli Graduate School of Education.
    Melissa Glaser

    Executive Director, Teach Florida

    x
    Melissa Glaser

    Executive Director, Teach Florida

    Prior to joining Teach Florida, Melissa created a shampoo company and worked as in house lawyer for Total Relief Skincare . She is actively involved in the Hollywood Jewish community and has worked for the past three summers in Camp Kfir Katan's day camp, running programming and communications. Melissa has a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women and received her J.D.  from Touro Law Center. Melissa is a native Floridian who returned to Florida after law school with her husband Josh. They have three children and live in Hollywood, Florida. Melissa brings passion, a strong work ethic and a deep belief that every child deserves a Jewish education.  Melissa will be working to grow our advocacy program by strengthening old relationships and building new ones.
    Ariana Dalezman

    Event Manager, Teach Coalition

    x
    Ariana Dalezman

    Event Manager, Teach Coalition

    Ariana Dalezman serves as Teach Coalition’s Event Manager. Prior to joining the Teach Coalition team, Ariana served as the Director of Operations and Events at one of Bergen County's largest orthodox synagogues. Ariana is a life-long resident of Bergen County, and currently resides in Teaneck, NJ with her husband and three children. Ariana graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Communication, when she is not planning events, Ariana enjoys traveling with her family and baking.
    Malka Kownat-Rhodes

    Director of Government Programs, Teach Florida

    x
    Malka Kownat-Rhodes

    Director of Government Programs, Teach Florida

    Malka Kownat-Rhodes is a long-time professional in the field of special education, with over 10 years of experience working in a large school district in Ohio. Malka graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College with a BA in Psychology, and then earned a master's degree in Education from Notre Dame College in Ohio. Most recently, Malka worked as the Director of Student Support for The Torah Academy of Boca Raton in South Florida.  Malka has a history of successfully partnering with government agencies and school districts, and with non-profit organizations like The Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Services, to procure funding for educational initiatives. Malka’s years of experience working with families struggling with the cost of private school tuition combined with the cost of services for children with special needs, has led to her joining Teach Coalition. In her new capacity as a funding specialist, she helps families access funding for both specialized services and private school tuition.
    Adina Landsberg

    School Funding Specialist, Teach Florida

    x
    Adina Landsberg

    School Funding Specialist, Teach Florida

    Over the last ten years, Adina has played a valuable role in various non-profit institutions, with a specialty in management, operations and administrative leadership. Originally from New Jersey, she earned a B.B.A. in Economics from Baruch College (CUNY) and later an M.A. in Events & Conference Management from the University of Westminster in London, England. For the last six years, Adina served as the Director of Business and Donor Development at Hadar High School for Girls in Boca Raton. Adina is passionate about using her skills to help manage institutional processes to ensure progress and success. As a Scholarship Funding Specialist, she is dedicated to providing support to schools and parents as part of the Teach Florida GovMax team.
    Emily Levine

    Government Maximization Specialist, Teach Florida

    Rachel Greenbaum

    Advocacy Coordinator, Teach Florida

    Kelly Walker

    Services For All Liaison, Teach Florida

    x
    Kelly Walker

    Services For All Liaison, Teach Florida

    Kelly Walker is the Services for All / Child Find School Liaison. With over 24 years of school-related experience, she has worked as a teacher, special education director, and college faculty member training hundreds of pre-service special education teachers with an emphasis on law and compliance. As a mother of a child with a language-based learning disability, Kelly learned to navigate the public and private school systems while advocating for her own daughter. She enjoys assisting other parents by helping them work through the systemic barriers they often face when seeking educational services for their children. Additionally, Kelly serves as a subject matter expert for the Florida teacher licensure exam, an expert witness in due process and other special education-related court cases, and is an active member of the Broward ESE Advisory Council.