By Kyle Coppola
Umatilla Middle School Welcomes Mary Bailey As New Principal
UMATILLA, Fla. — Umatilla Middle School has a new leader at its helm. Mrs. Mary Bailey has been appointed as the school’s principal, taking over for Andrea Pyatt, who recently stepped into the role of principal at Leesburg High School following the departure of Michael Randolph.
Bailey brings a wealth of experience to the position. Principal Bailey has served Lake County Schools in various capacities over the years including as a Literacy Teacher and Assistant Principal for Leesburg High School. Those who are wanting to get to know Principal Bailey can do so on Wednesday, November 20th in the Umatilla Middle School Cafeteria from 5:30pm-6:30pm.
(You can meet new Umatilla Middle School Principal Mary Bailey on Wednesday, November 20th from 5:30pm-6:30pm in the UMS Cafeteria.)
Principal Bailey is expected to build on the foundation of excellence at Umatilla Middle School. All the Umatilla school’s are thriving right now especially at the High School level where Principal Frazier was named as Florida Principal of the year in 2023. What’s been happening in Umatilla is fantastic and we wish Principal Bailey nothing but success. We are excited to see her in her new role.
Her appointment comes amid a broader reshuffling of leadership within Lake County Schools, with Leesburg High Principal Michael Randolph taking on a different role within Lake County Schools. Principal Randolph led Leesburg High to their highest graduation rates in history while also improving the school’s academic standing. We also wish Principal Andrea Pyatt the best of luck as the new principal of Leesburg High School.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
