Geary’s Chadwell Receives Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (March 1, 2006) – Brenda Kay Chadwell became a teacher because she wanted to inspire students to realize their dreams and to share the spirit of learning. “My goal is to make sure that each of my students knows he or she can make a difference!” says Chadwell, a 29-year teaching veteran. “As a teacher, I have the ability to inspire my students each day with encouraging words and enthusiasm. That one smile or kind word I offer as a teacher just might be the only positive interaction that child might receive during the day.”

Today, Chadwell received the sort of encouragement she delivers. She was among only 12 teachers statewide to receive a 2006 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award. Robert W. Shanks, president of Arch Coal’s eastern operations, representing Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal president and chief executive officer, made the announcement during a presentation ceremony at the state capitol. He was accompanied by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin; First Lady Gayle Manchin; Secretary of Education and Arts Kay Goodwin; Deputy State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jack McClanahan; and West Virginia Education Association President Charles Delauder.

"I’m impressed that Brenda Kay Chadwell doesn’t teach her subject matter in a vacuum," Leer said. "She works with her colleagues to ensure that reading is entwined in other subjects, and with parents to make them an active part of their children’s learning."

Chadwell teaches reading and language arts to seventh- and eighth-grade students at Geary Elementary Middle School in Left Hand. “The most important thing that I do for my students is to instill a love of reading for a lifetime,” notes Chadwell.

“Life is what we imagine it to be,” she adds. “All of my students are gifted in some way. It has been my charge for 29 years to nourish that gift so my students will make a difference in the world. I am seeing that come to pass one child at a time.”

Chadwell earned her bachelor’s degree at Glenville State College; a master’s degree at the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies; and a second master’s degree at the Marshall University Graduate College. She has served as a member of the West Virginia Department of Education Writing Assessment Standards Committee, and she works with the West Virginia Online Assessment initiative. She is an active member of the West Virginia Department of Education Instructional Materials Advisory Committee, for which she has served as secretary for 11 years. Chadwell continues her development through various workshops, institutes and other learning opportunities. She has earned numerous awards and honors throughout her career and further supports her community through participation in various church activities and civic organizations.

In addition to recognition, award recipients receive a $2,500 unrestricted cash prize, a distinctive trophy and a classroom plaque. The West Virginia Foundation for the Improvement of Education makes a $1,000 award to each recipient’s school, for use with at-risk students.

Arch Coal is supported by the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia Library Commission in program promotion. Arch Coal’s Teacher Achievement Awards is the longest running, privately sponsored teacher recognition program in the state. Nominations of the teachers are made by the public and selection is made by a blue-ribbon panel of the teachers’ peers – previous recipients of the award.

Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer and mines clean-burning, 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.

Information about each of the 12 recipients is posted on the Arch Coal Web site: www.archteacherawards.com.