Melissa Alton began her teaching career as a Teaching Assistant at UNC-Charlotte, where she also worked in the Writing Resource Center and later served as the President of the Adjunct Faculty Association.

While living in Charlotte, she was also employed as an Educational Consultant with Manus Academy and as a summer instructor at Charlotte Country Day School.

Melissa moved to Brevard County, Florida in 1999. In that year, she began working at Florida Air Academy as a teacher and as Tutoring Director. During her tenure at Florida Air, Melissa served as English Department Chair, Senior Class Advisor and Assistant Principal. She became the academy’s Principal in February 2012.

An English instructor by trade, Melissa has taught literature and language arts to students in grades 6-12 and at the college level. She holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MA from UNC-Charlotte, and is excited to be working towards her M. Ed. with the University of Florida.

Melissa is confident this degree will enhance her ability to be an effective leader at Florida Air Academy. Outside of Florida Air, Melissa works for the College Board as an Essay Reader in the Advanced Placement program and serves as a Quality Assurance Review Team member for AdvancED. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Brevard Cultural Alliance. Melissa lives in Melbourne with her husband, visual artist and community theater actor Sean Alton, their son Ian, and three Jack Russell terriers.