Prestigious Education Awards Go to 10 in West Virginia

Scott Depot (April 30) – Ten West Virginia teachers were honored today, as recipients of the 2002 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award, at a ceremony at Scott Teays Elementary School in Scott Depot.

Arch Coal President and Chief Executive Officer Steven F. Leer, accompanied by Gov. Bob Wise, Secretary of Education and Arts Kay Goodwin, Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Stewart, and West Virginia Education Association President Tom Lange presented awards to:

“It is obvious that West Virginia is blessed with many, many excellent teachers who bring the magic of learning to their classrooms every day. They dare their students to succeed - and then teach them how!” Leer said. “These recipients understand that they have been measured against very high standards by their peers and have been found to be among the very best in their profession in West Virginia.”

"West Virginia has many teachers who excel in their profession," said Wise. "Today, I am honored to join Arch Coal in acknowledging the classroom contributions of these 10 outstanding teachers, who are helping to ensure a brighter future for our children."

"West Virginia's teachers work on the front lines of the battle for our future,” Goodwin said. “Good teaching is essential to our continued growth as a state and nation. We are very proud of our high quality teachers, and we are very grateful to Arch Coal for its vision and generosity in recognizing them for their achievements."

"The West Virginia Department of Education is pleased to join in publicly celebrating these distinguished teachers. We thank Arch Coal for continuing to acknowledge and reward these educators for their significant contributions to our state and our children," said Stewart.

“The West Virginia Education Association is once again proud to partner with Arch Coal in presenting the Teacher Achievement Awards,” said Tom Lange, WVEA’s president. “Our classrooms are filled with outstanding teachers, and these educators represent the dedicated men and women who teach our students every day. I wish more companies would follow the lead of Arch Coal and honor those educators who excel in the classroom.”

“Our teacher recognition program is one of the longest running in the state,” said John R. Snider, Arch Coal external affairs director. “More than 450 teachers were nominated for the awards, which indicates that West Virginians continue to highly value the contributions made by classroom teachers. Each applicant was judged by a blue-ribbon panel of educators.

“Our judges informed us it was difficult to select the 10 recipients, because of the excellent quality of the applications. There was very little difference between the top 10 and many others,” Snider said.

Each recipient receives a $2,500 unrestricted cash award and a distinctive glass trophy, in addition to other recognition. The Arch Coal teacher recognition program is unique because it features public nomination and peer selection.

Arch Coal has support from the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Education Association, and Speedway in promoting the program. Arch Coal’s teacher awards program is one of the longest running in the state.

Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer and a supplier of clean-burning, low-sulfur coal exclusively. Approximately 2,000 people are employed at Arch’s operations in West Virginia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACI) and maintains its corporate headquarters in St. Louis.

Information about each of the 10 recipients is posted on the Arch Coal Web site: www.archcoal.com.