High School Art Teacher, Mr. Evan Rumble, Works to Expand the Art Program

Mr. Evan Rumble knew he wanted to be a teacher, specifically an art teacher when he was in high school. You could usually find him hanging out in the art room with his friends where he could be creative and observe what it was like to teach, too. 

Mr. Rumble has taught art from the east to the west coast in his time since graduating from Western Washington University in Washington state. After growing up in a rural community in Washington, and teaching high school ceramics and drawing classes, Mr. Rumble decided to venture east and relocated to Pittsburgh, PA. He began his career at PA Distance at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year and teaches Digital Photography, Drawing & Painting, 2-D Animation, Sculpture & Mixed Media, and Art History for High School students. 

“It’s awesome to have so many different courses available to my students that are each their own individual program,” he explained. “Not many schools have exclusive art courses because it’s usually condensed all into one class.”

Although he loves all of his art courses, Mr. Rumble is especially excited about his 2-D Animation class. For the 2021-2022 school year, students will have the opportunity to use new digital tablets with styluses to practice their drawings. 

“It’s going to be so awesome,” he explained, enthusiastically. “High schools typically do not have animation classes and to have one as comprehensive as the one we have is mind-blowing.” 

“I want to continue to push digital art because I think it’s the future,” he added. “I’m excited to see how the program progresses here.” 

With each of his art courses, students receive a menagerie of materials to supplement their learning and allow them to create artwork at home. These materials (with the exception of the tablets) are theirs to keep. 

“Students are getting professional-grade items to use. Some of these materials are way better than what some of my friends use in their studios,” Mr. Rumble explained. 

Mr. Rumble’s Drawing & Painting students get professional-grade watercolor and acrylic paints, India Ink and calligraphy pens, paintbrushes, markers, and illustrator pencils. Sculpture & Mixed Media classes receive polymer clay, armature wire, paper products including origami and cardstock, and block printing supplies for relief printing. The 2-D Animation students get drawing-based tools like pens and pencils with the digital tablet coming next school year. Finally, his Art History classes receive washable markers, crayons, watercolor paints, and paintbrushes. All of his classes receive sketch pads and watercolor paper, too. 

“We plan our curriculum very meticulously,” he said. “Every item and the materials we supply are carefully calculated and used. I love to see my students continue to use these materials to create art outside of class, too.”

Although Mr. Rumble is new to teaching in a cyber environment, he soon discovered the benefits of PA Distance. 

“I’m very grateful and fortunate to have a position at a cyber school,” he said. “This way of learning is extremely effective and benefits our students. It’s important for kids to learn how to be a self-starter and autonomous learning skills.” 

Mr. Rumble also noted that, as a teacher at a cyber school, he is confident in his future.

“I’m also impressed and excited with the forward-thinking education model and trajectory that PA Distance has,” he explained. “It’s great to know that PA Distance has a place in education because of the innovation in technology.” 

“We have a lot of good things on the way and in the works,” he added.