Pinedale Elementary School’s Kyle Walker Receives Arch Coal, Inc. Teacher Award

Casper – Kyle B. Walker, a teacher at Pinedale Elementary School, today was named one of 10 Arch Coal, Inc. Teacher Achievement Award recipients.

With the announcement, Arch Coal also presented Walker with a $2,500 cash award, according to Arch Coal Vice President Terry O’Connor, who told an assembly at McKinley Elementary School in Casper that teachers are entrusted with Wyoming’s most valuable resource – its children. O’Connor was joined by Governor Jim Geringer, State Superintendent Judy Catchpole and Wyoming Education Association President Gary McDowell.

A colleague and parent of students who have had Walker as their teacher, Ann Bennett, says, “Kyle takes a personal interest in each student. My children think globally and believe they can go anywhere with their education.”

“In reading, Mr. Walker does a lot of different things so that all of us can learn in our own way at our own level,” says one of his students, Erica David. “He has very high expectations for each of us.”

“He strongly advocates the involvement of the student, the parents and the school staff in the success of every child. He also recognizes the influence community has on the school system, and he is very active in promoting community involvement,” says Madeleine Murdock, a Pinedale resident.

“The greatest pleasures I have experienced in my 28 years as a teacher,” says Walker, “have come from the blossoming of children through the discovery of their own talents and abilities. We must always remember we are not teachers of math or science; we are teachers of children. When our focus is children, individual needs are addressed, self-esteem grows, character is developed, and learning becomes an intrinsic part of life.”

According to Walker, the most powerful way to help kids identify their talents is to develop their abilities to communicate effectively. Talent isn’t worth much if it cannot be shared,” he says. “The technical revolution has opened giant doors for exploring the world we live in. Now, when we study Social Studies we virtually visit the countries and landmarks of the world, stay abreast of current developments, listen to live broadcasts in the classroom and have libraries, museums, and art galleries from all over the world at our fingertips.”

Walker teaches fifth grade at Pinedale, where he has spent his entire teaching career. He has his Bachelor of Art, Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Wyoming.

This was the inaugural year of the Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Awards in Wyoming. Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer. Arch employs more than 500 people in Wyoming and 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 makes its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo.