April 30, 2025
South Sumter Middle School Student Sidney Reynolds Named CTE Student of the Month
By Kyle Coppola
South Sumter Middle School Student Sidney Reynolds Named CTE Student of the Month
BUSHNELL, Fla. (April 1, 2025) – South Sumter Middle School eighth grader Sidney Reynolds has been named the Sumter County Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) Student of the Month for April 2025.
Reynolds, a Sumter County resident for 13 years, is currently enrolled in Health Science and Exploring Information Technologies courses. She previously completed Computer Science Discovery and Career Clusters in sixth grade, as well as Coding and Coding Essentials in seventh grade. Her passion for technology and health sciences has distinguished her as a top student in the school’s CTE program.
(Reynolds has been a member of the South Sumter Middle School Robotics Team for the past three years.)
“My favorite part of my CTE program is learning new things about technology,” Reynolds said. “I also love how they can help us prepare for future careers.”
That enthusiasm was evident at the 2024 Sumter Intervention Convention, where she earned second place for her app invention titled Don’t Press X. The app helps students remember to charge and update their school computers regularly.
Reynolds has been a member of the South Sumter Middle School Robotics Team for the past three years. This year, she also competed at the school, district and regional science fairs with her “Machine Learning Water Quality” project. Despite a demanding academic schedule, she has earned six industry certifications during her time at South Sumter Middle, including word processing, computing essentials, cybersecurity essentials, programming and logic, gaming essentials, and digital citizenship and ethics.
She plans to pursue animal science CTE courses in high school as she works toward her goal of becoming a marine biologist. Reynolds hopes to attend the University of Florida, where she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in marine sciences and later pursue a graduate degree in fisheries and aquatic sciences.
Described by her teachers as a motivated, respectful and collaborative student, Reynolds is known for being a team player, strong communicator and effective organizer. She consistently brings a positive attitude and helps others overcome challenges.
South Sumter Middle School is proud to honor Sidney Reynolds as the April 2025 Student of the Month for her dedication, academic excellence and positive impact on her peers and school community.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers students a modern approach to higher education and workforce preparation through hands-on, real-world learning. With 17 career pathways and minimal barriers to enrollment, CTE helps students gain industry certifications and skills in high-demand fields across Florida.
For more information about Sumter County Schools, call 352-793-2315. To learn more about CTE in Florida, visit GetThereFL.com.
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.
