April 3, 2025
Alee Academy Students To Restore Mount Dora’s Iconic ‘Starry Night’ House
By Kyle Coppola
Alee Academy Students To Restore Mount Dora’s Iconic ‘Starry Night’ House
EUSTIS, Fla. — Students from Alee Academy Charter School in Eustis are taking part in a community-driven effort to restore one of Mount Dora’s most distinctive landmarks—the “Starry Night” house.
(Starry Night house a tribute to Vincent van Gogh’s famed painting, has become a local tourist attraction. The paint however needs a touch up after years in the hot Florida sun.)
Through the initiative “Starry Fight: A Canvas for the World,” launching April 4, 2025, students will help refresh the vibrant mural that adorns the home, a tribute to Vincent van Gogh’s famed painting.
The house, owned by Nancy Nemhauser and Lubomir Jastrzebski, gained national attention in 2017 when a legal battle over city code violations threatened the artwork’s existence. After a lengthy dispute, the couple prevailed, securing a public apology and settlement from the city.
(Starry Night House has become one of the most popular places to visit in Mount Dora.)
Filmmaker Lee Montel will document the restoration process, capturing the collaboration between students and the community in preserving the beloved landmark.
Alee Academy, a charter high school in Eustis, serves students across Lake County, emphasizing academic and personal development in an inclusive learning environment.
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.
