By Kyle Coppola
Umatilla High Principal Brent Frazier Honored In Washington D.C.
Umatilla, FL — Brent Frazier, Principal of Umatilla High School, was recently recognized as the 2024 Florida Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) during an event in Washington, D.C. The prestigious award highlights Frazier’s dedication to educational leadership and commitment to student success.
Illuminate 2024 Principals of the Year Celebration NASSP, October 2024, Washington, D.C.
Frazier joined other Principals of the Year from across the country in a week of events focused on educational innovation and leadership. “It was an incredible experience, to say the least,” Frazier shared. “I had the opportunity to network with principals from across the nation, gaining insights and ideas to bring back to our school.”
On Thursday, Frazier met with officials from the U.S. Department of Education to discuss pressing issues in education, including the impact of artificial intelligence and strategies to recruit and retain high-quality Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teachers.
Friday’s schedule included a visit to the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where Frazier and his peers engaged with White House staff on school safety and mental health challenges in schools. The day culminated with a Gala featuring remarks from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten and keynote speaker JJ Moses, a former NFL star.
Principal Fraizer stands with other high school principals honored for their leadership. Photo – Illuminate 2024, Principals of the Year Celebration, NASSP, October 2024, Washington, D.C.
The recognition comes at a pivotal time for Umatilla High School, where Frazier’s leadership has focused on fostering an inclusive environment and academic excellence. Under his leadership, Umatilla High has flourished academically. The introduction of the Cambridge AICE course which allows students to earn credits towards an associates degree has been a large success. Umatilla High is up across the board. Principal Frazier will be the first one to thank his team as well.
“I want to thank the entire school for holding down the fort while I went to Washington D.C.” says Principal Frazier. “A special thank you to my incredible APs, Tes and Theresa, who stepped up big time to run the school during one of the busiest weeks of the year. Thank you to all of SGA, Dr. Sabino, Victoria, Mrs. Archer, Mrs. Carper, Ms. Short, and Mrs. Brunson for going the extra mile last week. Finally, I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Mrs. Tyrell, who, despite being REALLY pregnant, put on a fantastic Homecoming. I am truly blessed to work with such an amazing team!” says Principal Fraizer.
That’s the kind of leader Principal Fraizer is. Always thanking his team. Everyone has had an impact on the success from the parents, teachers and students who have bought into this school. Students are proud to represent Umatilla High. Recent graduate Trey Craft says “This place means a lot because everyone at the school has so much potential. I could have played anywhere but I choose Umatilla High to build a legacy. I love this place and they always believed in me.” says Craft. He is now a freshman at Florida A&M where he will be a catcher for the FAMU Rattlers in 2025.
Big congratulations to Principal Fraizer and we couldn’t be more proud to have him as the principal at Umatilla High. Way to go!
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.
