March 18, 2025
East Ridge High Instructor William Lee Fouraker To Receive “You Make A Differance” Award
By Kyle Coppola
East Ridge High Instructor William Lee Fouraker To Receive “You Make A Differance” Award
CLERMONT, FL – The KinderVision Foundation has announced that William Lee Fouraker, CTE instructor in Television Production at East Ridge High School, will receive the 2025 Mary Biggs Knauer “You Make a Difference” Award as KinderVision’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
“This award is to recognize the teacher of the KinderVision Teen PSA Program that we feel most personifies our mission of empowering teens to live safe and fulfilled lives,” said Nancy Sebastian, CEO of KinderVision Foundation. “Lee has been a strong supporter of The Teen PSA Program since its beginning. His students have made meaningful contributions to our video library used by high schools around the country to address teen issues. His focus on personal well-being, as well as professional excellence for his students, is exemplary.”
Lee said his students have participated in KinderVision’s Teen Safety Public Service Announcement contest since 2016. “I think it is a fantastic program for high school students,” he said. “It’s a great chance for the students to really collaborate and discuss current issues. It’s also a terrific opportunity for students to practice and showcase their video production skill.”
The Teen PSA Program engages and educates youth through video messages created by teens for teens. It empowers youth by encouraging them to use their voices to create their own message to protect their peers. By creating 30-second personal safety PSAs, teens develop critical leadership and communication skills while raising vital safety awareness among their peers. These messages, which are shared through social media channels and local and national outreach efforts, create a constantly updated library resource that is used by youth-serving organizations nationwide.
KinderVision Foundation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering children and teens through peer-to-peer education to prevent victimization.
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.
