Somerset, Colo. (June 26, 2009) - For the third consecutive year, the Arch Coal Foundation will award Delta County teachers $10,000 in grants to support innovative teaching ideas.

Announcement was made by Don Vickers, general manager of Mountain Coal Company and its West Elk mine. "This grants program challenges the teachers of Delta County to use their experience and professionalism to develop their own programs or to modify existing programs that will increase learning in their classrooms," Vickers said. The grants will underwrite all or a portion of the costs associated with delivering a teacher-initiated, innovative instructional idea in the 2009-2010 school year.

Application materials will be sent to all Delta County schools by mid-August and completed applications will be due by Sept. 15, 2009. Grant recipients will be notified by the second week in October.

"We count on teachers every day to bring the joys of learning to their students," said Vickers. "This program helps our teachers develop their own program ideas, which might not be possible through other means. Based on the successes of the grants' first two years, we are looking for even more innovative, imaginative projects to underwrite in the coming school year. We value innovation and professionalism in our workplace. We feel the same way about our talented classroom teachers."

The grants program is available only to Delta County classroom teachers, including those who received grants in the program's first two years. A panel of judges, comprised of Mountain Coal personnel, educators and community members, will determine the grant recipients.

Arch Coal's Mountain Coal Company and its West Elk mine are located in Somerset, Colo. Almost 400 people are employed at West Elk. Arch Coal, Inc. is one of the nation's largest coal producers. The company's core business is providing U.S. power generators with cleaner-burning, low-sulfur coal for electric generation. Through its national network of mines, Arch supplies the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACI) and maintains its corporate headquarters in St. Louis.