Applications for Arch Coal Award Due March 12

WRIGHT – March 1, 2002 - Nominations for the 2002 Teacher Achievement Awards topped 450 in Wyoming, according to Arch Coal’s External Affairs Director Greg Schaefer.

“We’re very pleased with the amount of community participation,” said Schaefer. “It shows that the people of Wyoming truly value excellent teachers.”

Some people jotted down comments about the teachers they nominated. For instance, one nomination form read: "He's a great teacher because he uses his sense of humor to make physics interesting!" Another teacher was nominated because "she brings new life and zeal into reading."

Schaefer said teachers are grateful to hear such appreciation. He cited an e-mail from a teacher that said, “I’m thrilled with being nominated for an Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award. This award nomination is a wonderful opportunity for teacher recognition.”

The next step – the application – is integral to the selection process, according to Schaefer. Nominated teachers must return their completed applications no later than March 12.

“We believe the questions in our application make teachers examine their teaching philosophies, actions and style of teaching,” Schaefer said. “We believe the exercise is very useful in that it challenges teachers to describe how they bring all this together for the benefit of their students.”

The Arch Coal teacher recognition program is unique because it features public nomination and peer selection. After all the applications are received, a select group of experienced teachers, including some who have previously won the Arch Coal award, gather to select 10 recipients. Public announcement of the recipients is expected in early May. Each recipient receives a $2,500 unrestricted cash award.

Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer and employs more than 500 people in Wyoming. Arch produces more than 60 million tons of clean-burning, low-sulfur coal annually at its Wyoming operations. The company’s Black Thunder operation in Campbell County is one of the nation’s largest and most efficient coal mines. Arch Coal is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACI) and maintains its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri.