Wellington Elementary’s Carlson Receives
Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award

WELLINGTON, Utah (April 28, 2009) – Education is a process that begins the day we are born and continues throughout our lives, according to Carol B. Carlson. “My belief in that philosophy is one of my strengths,” she adds. “Although I am in the classroom as the facilitator to learning, I know I am also continuing my own educational development. Teaching carries with it the responsibility of making every moment count.”

Carlson’s students learned something new today – their teacher ranks among Utah’s best educators. She was one of only five Utah teachers to receive a 2009 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award. John Eaves, Arch Coal president and chief operating officer, made the announcement during a presentation ceremony at Wellington Elementary School. Eaves was accompanied by Dixie Allen, state school board member, and Mark Mickelsen, executive director of the Utah Education Association.

“Carol Carlson feels her greatest strength is that she is a hands-on teacher,” notes Eaves. “She believes that if the child can see it, build it and work with it, then that concept is internalized. An additional strength is that she is able to help her students feel comfortable and safe – promoting the development of their academic abilities and social skills.”

Carlson teaches third-grade students at Wellington Elementary School, a post she has held for 23 years. “We have four sons who attended Wellington Elementary, and Carol taught all four in the third grade,” notes Lee R. Barry, Wellington City police chief. “Her interest in and dedication to the students were evident in her classroom, as our sons and the other students progressed throughout the school year,” he adds. “Carol is a teacher who cares about each student, wanting them to learn and retain as much as they can. Our sons were always eager to go to school, wondering what their teacher had planned for the day.”

Carlson earned a bachelor’s degree at Utah State University. She has continued her professional development through workshops, master’s program and other college courses, and through involvement in a Reading First grant. When re-certified as a Utah teacher in 2006, she submitted 365 additional hours, versus the 100 required. She has since earned another 100 hours. Carlson has been a District Science Core co-trainer. She volunteers for several after-school projects and has helped assure Wellington’s technology progress by making sure each classroom has well-functioning, continually maintained hardware. She sits on various core curriculum book-selection committees, serves as educator on the Trust Lands Committee and mentors high-school juniors, seniors, and college-level student teachers. Carlson also has chaired the Education Committee of the Woman’s Auxiliary to the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. She has helped secure workshops, field-trip funding, books, mineral collections and electric microscopes for various schools and geological books for public and school libraries. She chaired the Coal Country Classic Golf Tournament and the Emma Entwistle Teacher Scholarship Fund. Carlson also served as president of the Carbon County Education Association and as a Carbon County 4-H Program leader, judge and mentor.

The award is underwritten by the Arch Coal Foundation. In addition to recognition, award recipients receive a personal, $3,500 unrestricted cash prize, a distinctive trophy and a classroom plaque. Nominations of the teachers are made by the public, and selection is made by a blue-ribbon panel of the teachers’ peers, all former recipients of the Arch Coal award. The Arch Coal Foundation also supports teacher recognition or grant programs in West Virginia, Wyoming and Colorado, as well as a number of other education-related causes.

Supporters of the program include the Office of Governor Jon Huntsman, Utah State Office of Education, Utah Education Association, Utah School Superintendents Association, Carbon County School District, Emery County School District, Sevier County School District, North Sanpete School District, South Sanpete School District, Far West Bank, Market Express, radio stations KMTI, KLGL, KMGR, KSVC, KCYQ, KOAL, KARB, KRPX, and both TacoTime and Bookcliff Sales in Price.

This is the third year the Arch Coal Foundation has sponsored the teacher recognition program in Carbon, Emery, Sanpete and Sevier counties. These counties surround the Dugout Canyon, Skyline and Sufco mines operated by Canyon Fuel Company, a subsidiary of major U.S. coal producer Arch Coal, Inc.

Arch Coal’s Canyon Fuel Company is Utah’s largest coal producer and a large state employer, with a workforce of approximately 800. Through its national network of mines, Arch Coal, Inc. provides 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.

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