Wormald Receives Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (May 3, 2006) – Kathleen Marie Wormald doesn’t think she chose teaching as a profession so much as teaching chose her. “When I was growing up, I didn’t think seriously about a career of any kind,” she recalls. “I always expected to go to college, as I assumed that was the next step after high school for almost everyone.

“When I was a junior in high school, I had an opportunity to attend a seminar on special education at Eastern Montana College,” she adds. “After that seminar, I was convinced I would become a teacher. Something about being a positive influence on a young person’s life made me want to be a part of the special breed of people we call teachers. That was almost 40 years ago, and I have not regretted that decision.”

If Wormald needed further proof of having made the right decision, she got it today. She became one of only 10 teachers statewide to earn a 2006 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award. Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal chairman and chief executive officer, made the announcement during a presentation ceremony this afternoon at Johnson Junior High School. He was accompanied by Gov. and First Lady Dave and Nancy Freudenthal; Mary Kay Hill, director of administration for the Department of Education; Wyoming Education Association Executive Director Jean Hayek; and Arch Coal President and Chief Operating Officer John Eaves.

“When asked to provide her teaching philosophy, Kathleen Wormald told us that her philosophy starts with a belief that all students deserve the very best education that she can give them,” says Leer. “I am impressed that she gives 100% to each and every student.”

Wormald teaches fifth-grade students at Glenn Livingston Elementary in Cody, Wyo. “The most important thing I do for my students is to encourage them to have high expectations of themselves,” she notes. “I greet students by name each morning and bid them farewell each evening with a handshake or a hug. I feel I connect with them personally as well as academically.

“I believe students may forget what they were taught in a classroom, but they will not forget how they were treated,” Wormald adds. “I believe each student should be treated with respect. I believe I can expect great things from each student. I believe I set the tone for the classroom and that each day should be a productive learning day.”

Wormald earned her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Montana College, Billings, and a master’s degree at Lesley College, Cambridge, Mass. Last month, Wormald served as an educational facilitator in a People to People World Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. Wormald has been included in several editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, as a result of nominations by former students. She has belonged to the Beta Sigma Phi social/service organization for nearly 30 years and further supports her community through church, parade, and education-related volunteer initiatives.

In addition to recognition, teacher achievement award recipients receive a $2,500 unrestricted, personal cash award, a distinctive trophy and a plaque. The Arch Coal teacher recognition program features public nomination and peer selection. Arch Coal is supported by the Wyoming Department of Education, the Wyoming Education Association, Taco John’s, Loaf ‘n Jug, and the Wyoming Library community in program promotion. This is the sixth year Arch Coal has made the awards in Wyoming.

Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer and employs approximately 900 people in Wyoming. Arch produces more than 90 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, Mo.

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