July 14, 2025
Mount Dora High Earns A Grade Under Leadership of Principal Kyle Bracewell
By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora High Earns A Grade Under Leadership of Principal Kyle Bracewell
Mount Dora High School has reclaimed its place as the top-ranked high school in Lake County, earning an “A” grade from the Florida Department of Education for the 2024-2025 academic year. It is a testament to the leadership of first-year principal Kyle Bracewell, who returned to Mount Dora High last year to take the helm along with former principal Marlene Straughan who set the school up for much success the past few years.
Bracewell succeeded former principal Marlene Straughan, who was promoted to Regional Executive Director for Region 1, overseeing schools in Lake County.
The A rating reflects statewide accountability measures based on factors such as student achievement, learning gains, graduation rates, and college and career readiness. Mount Dora High showed notable gains across the board, including significant improvement in English Language Arts and Math proficiency, acceleration in Career and Technical Education pathways, and increased participation in Advanced Placement coursework.
Bracewell brought a deep familiarity with the Mount Dora High community when he stepped into the role. His educational career began at Umatilla Middle School as an English Language Arts teacher before moving to Leesburg High School, where he served as a literacy coach, focusing on improving reading and writing outcomes for students across all grade levels.
His connection to Mount Dora High spans nearly a decade. Prior to his appointment as principal, Bracewell served eight years as an assistant principal at the school, working closely with students, staff, and families to advance academic achievement. In January 2023, he took on the principalship at Seminole Springs Elementary School, where he emphasized early learning and academic excellence before returning to Mount Dora High.
Mount Dora High Continues to be among the area’s top public school’s and has a 99% graduation rate which is one of the highest in Lake County. Congratulations to all the teachers, students, parents and faculty who made it happen!
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.
