BECKLEY — Two area teachers were honored for their classroom contributions Tuesday when they were recognized as recipients of the 2010 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award.

Collins Middle School math teacher Greg Minter and Woodrow Wilson High School art instructor Sandra Shaw were among just 12 West Virginia teachers who received the prestigious honor.

Prior to teaching sixth-grade math, Minter spent 28 of his 31-year career as a band, chorus and music instructor.

Minter, who resides in Ansted, the same town where he was reared, said he believes he is personally responsible for providing the best education possible for his students.

“The bottom line is that I am the most important variable in the learning experience of my students,” he said. “Textbooks, curriculums, resources and teaching trends all change. My job is to make it all come together for the benefit of the students.

“It’s not the textbook series or other resources given to me,”  he continued, “but rather what I do with them that makes the difference.”

Shaw, who has spent the last seven years of her 28-year teaching career as an art instructor at Woodrow, said it’s important for students in her classes to feel accepted and confident in their own abilities.

“My classroom is an environment of security where the students know they can take chances without being made fun of or being embarrassed,” she said. “We applaud risk-taking in my classroom and I tell students that mistakes are just opportunities to do something different.

“They know I expect the very best from them and that I will not accept less than 100 percent.”

Minter, Shaw and the other 10 recipients were honored by Arch Coal CEO Steven Leer during a presentation at the Clay Center. Also on hand were Gov. Joe Manchin, West Virginia Education Association president Dale Lee and state schools Superintendent Steven Paine.

Award winners received a $3,500 cash prize, a trophy and a classroom plaque. The West Virginia Foundation for the Improvement of Education, part of the West Virginia Department of Education, also makes a $1,000 contribution to each recipient’s school for use with at-risk students.

The awards are underwritten by the Arch Coal Foundation and supported by the state Department of Education, the WVEA and the West Virginia Library Commission.

Other West Virginia teachers honored were Melanie Donofe, Weirton; Catherine Grim, Hurricane; Carol Hamilton, Martinsburg; Anne Helmick, Paw Paw; Lisa Kerns, Lumberport; Joseph Kincaid, Poca; David Stone, Parkersburg; Lynette Swiger, Monongah; Sheila Kay Toth, Barrackville; and Mary Wright, Parkersburg.

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com