You may not know the name Rhode Malivert. But you’re familiar with her work if you ever tasted the caramel and sweet cream flavors in Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream.
“I was one of the engineers that worked on that,” said Malivert, who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of South Florida. She was also involved in the meat packaging process for Oscar Mayer deli-style turkey, as well as other grocery store products whose names people would recognize. She also worked as a metallurgist, traveling around the world to help clients design metal packaging.
For 15 years, Malivert lived what many would consider the good life, with the hefty corporate salary that came with it.
Still, she felt empty.
“I didn't think I made a change in anyone's life by making those products,” she said. “So, I didn't think that I was changing the world or changing someone's outlook in life or making them feel different.”
Malivert, who immigrated to the United States from Haiti at age 11, attended zoned public schools in a low-income area of Orlando alongside many students she said are likely “in prison, in debt, or dead.”
Those classmates haunted her. They also inspired her.
“It's people like those students that we need to continue to reach out and give opportunities to and let them know that there's an alternative… and that they can still be able to strive and be successful in their academic journey,” said Malivert, whose parents named her for a servant girl in the book of Acts who announced the Apostle Peter’s miraculous release from prison.
After a lot of prayer and a heart-to-heart talk with her mom, Malivert left the corporate world and used her retirement account to start an online school. Though she had never worked as a classroom teacher, she had mentored many junior-level employees in her field and felt fulfillment in that experience.
She told her mother, “I’m going to bet on myself, and I’m going to bet on my dream to help people.”
K12 Prep Academy started in 2019 with 30 students. Malivert partnered with nonprofits to offer classes to students in Haiti and the Dominican Republic who didn’t feel safe traveling to traditional schools. She also offered adult education. Those students were private pay or financed by their sponsoring non-profits and did not use Florida education choice scholarships. Malivert said her school has helped more than 1,500 adults around the world earn their high school diplomas. They also provided options for families in remote areas where the nearest school was many miles away.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit a year later, enrollment at the South Florida-based provider increased tenfold to 300 as parents in states where schools shut down and those who simply feared sending their children back to in-person schools scrambled for options.
“It was quite a jump,” Malivert said. “And we made sure that we served our students and made them feel they were the only student that we have, and we still do. That’s one of the reasons they come back to us.”
It was that individual attention that influenced Katherine Penczak to choose K12 Prep Academy for her son, Benjamin, who has a neurodiverse condition that affects his behavior.
Benjamin, who is entering fourth grade this school year, previously attended an in-person private school. Penczak had no issues with the school or the overall quality of its instruction. It just wasn’t the best fit for her son.
“He was interacting with classwork because he had to do it not because it was a love,” she said. K12 Prep Academy engaged him and developed his intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills.
Benjamin also needed to work at his own pace, and the strict timelines of the traditional school sometimes left him behind. K12 Prep Academy gave him the flexibility he needed by offering asynchronous lessons.
Penczak said a conversation with “Ms. Rhode” showed a commitment that went beyond academics.
“She said things that I was thinking and feeling; she basically put it that we're here, not just academically, we're here for the emotional part, and that translated to me as exactly what I was looking for,” Penczak said.
Need to have math class later because you need a break? No problem. Penczak said she was able to identify times when Benjamin learned best and customize his day.
She also likes that the school has students write journal entries about each lesson.
“It really opens the curiosity for the children,” she said, noting that Benjamin logs into school each day excited to learn and is now at grade level in his subjects.
Even though the school is online, Penczak finds the support is as good, if not better, than many in-person schools. Ms. Rhode, she said, “is always checking in.” The IT department is always available to help with any technical issues.
She has also noticed a change in Benjamin, who was reluctant to greet unfamiliar people at his previous in-person school. Now, he initiates introductions to teachers and is comfortable contacting them.
“K12 Prep Academy has not just the academics but the emotional part,” she said. “It's so hard to get both in many schools.”
In 2023, another door burst open for Malivert when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1, which converted all education choice scholarship programs to education savings accounts and allowed parents to use their ESA funds on individual courses at non-sectarian online schools.
In 2025, K12 Prep Academy became a state-approved K12 scholarship online homeschool provider, accepting the Personalized Education Program and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, which are education savings accounts administered by Step Up For Students. The school’s enrollment is about 232. Its 16 teachers allow for a student-teacher ratio of 22:1. It is accredited by Cognia and received an overall A grade from Niche, an online platform that ranks schools based on state data and user reviews. K12 Prep Academy is also approved as a provider under the state's Virtual Instruction Program for public school students in grades nine through 12. School districts are allowed to contract with approved providers and use the providers' teachers.
Lessons are pre-recorded to allow maximum schedule flexibility to accommodate activities such as sports, music, drama, or travel as well as different time zones. However, Malivert said, students also have access to live teachers for tutoring, questions, or concerns.
In addition to credit recovery, dual enrollment is provided through an agreement with Malivert’s alma mater, the University of South Florida. Advanced Placement classes also are available.
Looking back, Malivert said taking a chance to pursue a radically different life path turned out to be worth it. She now can see the effects of her work. She still partners with nonprofits to help educate victims of abuse, which include young girls who were forced into marriage as well as survivors of human trafficking. Malivert recalled a student whose abusive husband forbade her to get a high school diploma. But whenever he was at work or away, she secretly took classes a little at a time. Malivert got her a private scholarship to cover the cost. When the student finally graduated, she had her diploma mailed to a friend’s home.
Two years later, Malivert got a phone call from her former student. She had left her husband and become a nurse.
“And she was crying on the phone, and she’s like, ‘You know, you made this possible, and I’m able to leave. And I know I’m financially stable. That’s why it gave me the courage to leave because I know I can take care of my children now.”
To Malivert, those words were much sweeter than any high-end ice cream.