New canvas for Uhl
After five years with the Red Oak School District, instructor Jason Uhl is starting anew with a blank canvas.
The high school art teacher, art club sponsor, and high school yearbook sponsor, announced his resignation at the Red Oak School Board meeting Monday, March 14. He plans to take a position in northern Iowa.
Uhl began as a part-time art teacher and substitute until taking over as the district’s art teacher a few years ago. In addition to art, Uhl also took over the virtual reality class, bringing it over into the art realm, and also took over as the high school yearbook sponsor.
“I’ve worn a lot of hats over the years, between working with the yearbook and senior photography, getting photography to paper, seeking sponsors for the yearbook, and taking over virtual reality,” said Uhl.
Of the hats he’s been wearing, Uhl said the virtual reality aspect of his teaching has been his favorite.
“It was a really good experience. It doesn’t have a prescribed curriculum and specific objectives, it puts both of those aspects in the student’s hands. I’m more of a mentor than a teacher.”
Even though it’s only been five years since he started teaching, Uhl said technology has advanced dramatically in a short period of time.
“We were not a one-to-one district when I started. Students now have instant access to the web, and that opened up a new avenue to explore teaching in. It allowed me to bring in drawing pads, and we could explore painting through the computer rather than just paintbrush and canvas,” commented Uhl.
Additionally, the art department has been able to add two 3-D printers and Uhl said they get a lot of use.
His overall goal is to get his students comfortable enough to enter into the college atmosphere and be a success.
While he’s happy with his time in Red Oak, a chance to move closer to family has led to his decision to leave.
“My family and my fiancé’s family live in northeast Iowa. Sheldon had a long-time art-teacher retire. It’s a school I felt very comfortable transitioning into. I’m in a good place to help bring their professional learning system grow,” Uhl said. “When it came down to it, traveling long distance over the holidays was a wear, and our son is seven now and is starting to miss out on familial relationships. We decided now was the time to make this move.”
Uhl said he’ll miss the staff and the welcoming community. But he’ll miss the kids he’s worked with the most.
“Sometimes the students need guidance and a person to talk to. I’ve tried to make art a welcoming, relaxed, and an open environment,” he said.
Uhl was born in northern Iowa, and graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City with a degree in studio art and advertising. After a period of selling and designing jewelry, Uhl decided education was the way he wanted to go.
“I started teaching in Cherokee, and met my fiancé there. She got offered a job in Omaha and I looked around for art jobs in this area and was hired in Red Oak in 2011,” Uhl said.