Arch Insights
Arch Coal Names Davis Teacher
Achievement Award Recipient
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. (Feb. 27, 2008) – When Melanie Rowe Davis
thinks about her teaching philosophy, a vision
of the 1970s action figure Stretch Armstrong
comes to mind. “The amazing thing about Stretch
was that he could stretch his arms and legs to
protect himself and others from the bad guys,”
she notes. “When his work was finished, his body
reshaped back into his muscular self, stronger
than before and ready to face the next
challenge.
“Teaching the whole middle school child is a
challenge,” she adds. “To meet this challenge
head on and effectively impact student learning,
I must attempt feats of flexibility, much like
Stretch, realizing that each student learns
differently, has a different skill level and
comes to my classroom daily with varied
emotional and physical needs. Like Stretch, my
strength as a teacher is that I can stretch and
morph into any form and direction to meet the
needs of my students.”
Today Davis “morphed” yet again – and found
herself ranked among West Virginia’s top
teachers. She was among only 12 teachers
statewide to earn a 2008 Arch Coal Teacher
Achievement Award. Steven F. Leer, Arch Coal
chairman and chief executive officer, made the
announcement during a presentation ceremony at
the state capitol. He was accompanied by West
Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Paine and
West Virginia Education Association (WVEA)
President Charles Delauder.
“Melanie Davis is a role model from whom we all
could learn a valuable lesson,” notes Leer. “She
is determined to overcome the challenges of her
profession, making her a stronger, more
effective teacher – to her own benefit and that
of her students, school and state.”
Davis has taught middle school for nearly a
decade, most recently at Ritchie County Middle
School, Ellenboro, where she teaches language
arts to seventh-grade students. One way she
holds students’ interest is by “flying them
around the world.” They start the year with an
airline ticket to a learning adventure that
begins the next day.
“All year, we travel from country to country, as
we study literature from or about that country,”
Davis explains. Once in flight, students flew
back in time and were attacked by German bombers
over London. After making an emergency landing,
they were transported by train to the English
countryside – like the characters from The Lion,
the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis. “At
the end of the year, students look through their
passports and reflect on the learning that took
place and the changes in their skills and
themselves,” she adds.
Davis earned her bachelor’s degree at
Millersville University, Millersville, Pa. She
has achieved certification from the National
Board of Professional Teaching Standards, a
rewarding experience that made Davis want to
help other teachers do the same. As a result,
she currently is mentoring two teachers in the
certification process. Davis wrote and received
a grant enabling her to start a no-cost,
after-school drama/forensic program for
middle-school students. She also received two
grants used to help build a safe and
handicap-accessible playground for an elementary
school. Afterward, she organized fundraisers to
build and install new equipment. Davis further
serves her community through other
education-related initiatives and community
service projects, such as a backpack and
school-supply drive for young victims of
Hurricane Katrina, in which her students were
also involved.
In addition to recognition, award recipients
receive a personal, $2,500 unrestricted cash
prize, a distinctive trophy and a classroom
plaque. Also, the West Virginia Foundation for
the Improvement of Education, a foundation of
WVEA, provides public schools of the recipients
with $1,000 grants for use with at-risk
students.
The teacher recognition awards are underwritten
by the Arch Coal Foundation and supported in
program-promotion by the West Virginia
Department of Education, WVEA and the West
Virginia Library Commission. The Arch Coal
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 one of the nation’s largest coal
producers. Through its national network of
mines, Arch supplies the fuel for approximately
6 percent of the electricity generated in the
United States. The company is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACI) and maintains
its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Mo.