Arch Coal’s Innovative Teaching Grants Program

The Arch Coal Foundation introduced a new "Innovative Teaching Grants Program" in August 2007 to benefit teachers and students near the West Elk mine in Delta County, Colorado.

The Foundation will grant up to $10,000 to K-12 teachers in Delta County’s schools to invent and test innovative teaching ideas in their classrooms during the 2007-2008 school year.

“Education has traditionally been the largest area of giving for Arch Coal because we believe quality education enhances our country’s competitiveness and advances our future,” said General Manager of West Elk Pete Wyckoff. “Through this grants program, we can encourage Delta County teachers to use their experience, skills and imagination to generate innovative techniques or concepts that will aid learning in their classrooms. We want these ideas to be tested in the classroom and, if successful, be shared with other teachers."

“We believe these ideas should be relatively inexpensive because we want to encourage other teachers to replicate the best ideas,” said Wyckoff. “We also know that many teachers have to fund new ideas out of their own pockets. Not only do we want to encourage these new ideas, we want to help fund them.”

Individual classroom awards will be limited to $500 each. Eligible teachers, or teaching teams, can apply for one award every school year. Wyckoff also said the Foundation is forming a committee composed of area citizens and local employees to review applications and make recommendations to the Arch Coal Foundation for grant recipients.

Download a copy of the Delta County grants application form (3 MB PDF)

2007 Grant Recipients