CHARLESTON, W.Va. (December 2, 2005) – Already feeling overscheduled for the holidays? Arch Coal's Vice President of External Affairs John Snider recommends taking a quick break from your hectic schedule to recognize an outstanding West Virginia teacher who has meant a great deal in your life, or your child's.

"Take time today to nominate a teacher for a $2,500 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award," says Snider. "If you do, your teacher will know before the holidays that he or she was nominated as a terrific teacher. What a nice present that would be – for a teacher to know that someone took the time to say, 'You are making or have made a difference in my life. Thank you.'"

"We all should make time each year to say thank you to the talented teachers who bring the magic of learning to classrooms across West Virginia," Snider says.

The final day teachers may be nominated for Arch Coal's 2006 awards is January 16. Nomination forms are available in libraries and schools across the state and on the Internet at www.archteacherawards.com.

Arch Coal plans to make the cash awards to 12 teachers. In addition, Snider says that the West Virginia Foundation for the Improvement of Education, a foundation operated by the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), again will provide a $1,000 grant to the school of each recipient for use with at-risk students. The program has been supported since its inception by the WVEA and the West Virginia Department of Education. Beginning this program year, the West Virginia Library Commission also is providing support.

Arch Coal is the nation's second largest coal producer and mines low sulfur coal exclusively. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACI) and maintains its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo.