March 17, 2025
Mount Dora’s Round Lake Charter School Baby Boom: 17 Years Later, Teachers and Teens Reunite
By Kyle Coppola
Mount Dora’s Round Lake Charter School Baby Boom: 17 Years Later, Teachers and Teens Reunite
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — In 2007, Round Lake Charter School in Mount Dora experienced a baby boom like no other—11 pregnant teachers, 12 babies born in the same year, and a principal struggling to keep up with it all.
“Our principal’s head was spinning,” recalled Gretchen Sommer, one of the teachers from that unforgettable year.
(Before and after photo. The top photo shows what the mothers and babies looked like in 2007 and the bottom is 2025 as many of the now teenagers are getting set for graduation. Photo Credit – Gretchen Sommer.)
Now, 17 years later, the group has come together once again, reuniting in what they call a long-overdue celebration of friendship, motherhood, and the students they’ve watched grow up.
“We managed to get all of us together again, with Lara even flying in from Texas to make this happen,” Sommer said. “We have three seniors in the bunch, and we figured it was now or never if we wanted a reunion.”
(This was a special reunion as these 11 mothers and 12 children have a story to tell for ther rest of their lives. Photo Credit – Gretchen Sommer.)
The gathering was filled with laughter, memories, and the realization of just how much time had passed. Teachers who once balanced lesson plans with late-night feedings are now seeing their children step into adulthood.
“What a blessing to work alongside these beautiful women over the years and to watch these kids grow into such amazing teenagers,” Sommer said.
For the teachers of Round Lake Charter, 2007 was more than just a year of new life—it was the start of an unbreakable bond. We wish all of these teenagers the best of luck as they begin planning for their future endeavors.
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.
