By Kyle Coppola
What’s Next for Old Fruitland Park Elementary School?
After generations of serving the local community, Old Fruitland Park Elementary School closed its doors to its final group of Fruitland Park Elementary students in late May. But the bell won’t fall silent for long.
The historic campus, which officially ended its run as the home of Fruitland Park Elementary following the opening of the brand-new Fruitland Elementary School just weeks ago, will soon take on a new role, temporarily housing students from Beverly Shores Elementary in Leesburg.
(The new Fruitland Park Elementary offers modern classrooms and the most up to date technology. It’s a big step up for the students in the area. Photo Credit – Fruitland Park Elementary.)
Beverly Shores Elementary is undergoing a massive renovation project aimed at modernizing its aging infrastructure. With construction expected to stretch through the 2025-2026 academic year, Lake County Schools selected Old Fruitland Park as the temporary home for Beverly Shores students and staff.
The move ensures continuity of learning while the district upgrades Beverly Shores with state-of-the-art academic facilities designed to meet the needs of 21st-century learners.
(Old Fruitland Park Elementary school would have required massive upgrades and the county elected for a new school instead. The old school will serve one more year as an elementary school before the county will need to decide what to do with it. Photo Credit – Home.com.)
While Old Fruitland Park Elementary will once again serve as a hub for learning, its long-term future remains unclear. The county will face a decision about what to do with the aging facility after the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year.
Options could include repurposing the building for district-wide use, leasing or selling the property, or potentially retiring it altogether. We would love to hear your ideas. What do you think should become of this property? Let us know in the comments below.
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.
