August 19, 2025
Leesburg and Eustis Elementary Teachers Complete Florida High Impact Teacher Corps Training
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg and Eustis Elementary Teachers Complete Florida High Impact Teacher Corps Training
Jessica Noblin, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports coordinator at Leesburg Elementary School, and Carol Tracy, a fifth-grade teacher at Eustis Elementary School, have completed a year of professional learning through the Florida High Impact Teacher Corps.
The program prioritizes teachers who have been identified as “high impact” and are working in D and F schools, though it also includes some schools graded C. Eustis Elementary and Leesburg Elementary both earned Cs for the 2024-25 school year. The training includes in-person sessions, virtual sessions, and individual coaching, aiming to encourage teachers to remain at their current schools, where they are needed most, and to help teachers develop the knowledge, skills, and networks necessary to improve student outcomes.
(Jessica Noblin, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports coordinator at Leesburg Elementary School, and Carol Tracy, a fifth-grade teacher at Eustis Elementary School, have completed a year of professional learning through the Florida High Impact Teacher Corps.)
Educators selected to apply for the High Impact Teacher Corps have shown statistically significant positive impacts on student learning according to Florida’s value-added model (VAM), which is used to measure learning growth for teacher evaluations. About 9,000 teachers in Florida are considered “high impact” based on VAM. Each year, only 50-60 high-impact educators are selected for the Corps.
The state benefits from the program through the retention of high-impact teachers in high-needs schools. About 80% of program completers report returning to their school the year following their participation. Other benefits include an emphasis on supporting vulnerable students in reaching their full potential and leveraging roles and expertise to further teacher leadership and develop at participants’ schools.
“This is a huge accomplishment,” Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay says. “Participation was certainly a commitment of time, but it also demonstrated a commitment to improving teaching and learning not only in Lake, but across Florida. Lake County is honored to have been represented by Ms. Noblin and Ms. Tracy.”
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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.
Thank you for highlighting this endeavor. It was a privilege to serve alongside so many dedicated educators!