Darren Copeland – Asst. High School Principal

I primarily grew up in the northern Midwest.  I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived in Michigan through most of my early years, with some short stints in Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri before moving to Florida at age fifteen.  I had the unique opportunity of attending ten different schools in the ten years prior to my sophomore year of high school.  My family moved to Lakeland at the end of my ninth grade year and I began attending LCS in tenth grade.

After graduating from LCS in 1990, I attended Central Michigan University. I received my Bachelor’s degree in 1994 in Business Administration with a major in finance.  I worked in the private sector at Lockheed Martin for four years before making a career shift and going into Education.  I worked for Polk County Public Schools for ten years, five as a middle school physical education teacher, at both Lakeland Highlands Middle and Stambaugh Middle Schools, one year as Dean of Discipline at Stambaugh, and four years as assistant principal at Bartow Middle School.  In 2002 I received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

I began working at LCS in the summer of 2007 in my current position as assistant high school principal.  In the time that I have been at LCS I have also taught life management, psychology and sociology.  I coordinate our club programs, sponsor the Student Council, serve as a senior class advisor, and oversee student development.

I count it a privilege to be a part of the LCS family, so much so that it is a big part of my own family. I have been married to my wife Jennifer, who also teaches at LCS, since 1997.  We have two sons, Brock and Brady, who are both students at the school.  We attend Heritage Baptist Church where I serve on the leadership team and have been a member for over twenty years.

God has blessed me and my family tremendously by allowing us to be a part of this ministry at LCS.  I cherish the opportunities that I have each and every day to use my gifts to impact the lives of the young people God has entrusted to me.  LCS has been a big part of my life since I was a teenager, and I hope to instill that same sense of community, belonging and pride in our current students.  I want to help them understand who they are before a holy God and to impact their lives for eternity.