By Kyle Coppola
New K-8 School Cherry Lake Prep Academy Opens in Groveland
Cherry Lake Prep Academy, a new charter school serving grades K through 8, will open this August in Groveland. According to a press release, the school is committed to fostering leadership, innovation and character development from the very first day of school.
Located in one of Central Florida’s fastest-growing communities, Cherry Lake Prep will offer a unique, personalized educational experience with small class sizes, a family-oriented environment and an emphasis on real-world skills.
(Dr. Kimberly Kokx is the schools first principal. She has a long history in education, founding a performing arts chool and even opened Marine Village School in Minnesota.)
“We believe every child is a leader in the making,” Dr. Kimberly Kokx, founding director of Cherry Lake Prep Academy, says. “This is more than a school. It’s a movement to raise emotionally intelligent, creative and confident learners who are ready for tomorrow’s world.”
Principal Kokx holds a Bachelor of Arts in K–12 Vocal Music from Idaho State University, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, and a Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership from Concordia University.
“I bring to Cherry Lake a heart for students, a vision for excellence and a commitment to building strong partnerships with families and the greater community,” she says.
(The new school is a much needed option for the growing Groveland community.)
In the media kit, it states that “Cherry Lake Preparatory Academy is a member of the Charter Schools USA family and we are relentlessly committed to student greatness in school and life. We strive to unleash each student’s potential by building strong minds and good hearts ensuring they develop lifelong future-ready skills that will lead them to success as they pursue their dreams and aspirations. We understand every child is unique and we personalize learning based on their passions, interests, and strengths.”
Cherry Lake Prep invites families to schedule a school tour at their location, 119 Wilson Lake Parkway in Groveland. You can reach Omar Hernandez, the School Enrollment & Marketing Administrator, at 407-907-5059 or email Omar.Hernandez@cherrylakeprep.org.
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.
