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Peabody Energy and Logos School today presented Coulterville High School educator Timothy D. Schnoeker with the first-ever Peabody/Logos "Leaders in Education" award. The honor recognizes Mr. Schnoeker for his pioneering 20-year career teaching students to use technology and trade skills to benefit the community.

"Tim realizes that some lessons can't be taught with textbooks. So, he reaches kids with real-life vocational activities that also help their neighbors in need," says Coulterville High School Principal Karyn Albers. "Tim does more than build our students' skills; he builds their character."

The Peabody/Logos Leaders in Education award honors exceptional mentors who transform the lives of students in the greater St. Louis area and comes with a $1,000 grant. A weekly winner is selected by a committee of academic, business and civic leaders. Any employee at a Missouri or Illinois public, charter or private school serving students in kindergarten through grade 12 can qualify. St. Louis-based Peabody Energy has pledged $450,000 dollars over three years to support the Leaders in Education recognition program and benefit the mission of Logos School. More information and applications are available at LogosSchool.org/Leaders.

"Mr. Schnoeker has managed to instill a critical life lesson in his students: the importance of giving back to others in need," said Dr. David Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Logos School. "He goes beyond teaching skilled trades; he creates responsible citizens who are willing to give of themselves to support their community."

Commenting on the winner, Mary Frontczak, Peabody Energy Vice President and Assistant General Counsel and a member of the selection committee, said: "We created the Leaders in Education program to give outstanding educators and mentors the recognition they deserve, and no one has earned this honor more than Tim Schnoeker."

In the past three years, Mr. Schnoeker's students have rebuilt housing in hurricane-ravaged Mississippi. They have also constructed and donated a playhouse to the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, which protects the rights of children in foster care, and the students designed and built a handicap-accessible driveway and ramp at a Highland, Ill., group home for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Illinois State Board of Education recently identified Mr. Schnoeker as one of the top 10 Illinois educators of 2009. He also earned the 2008-2009 Technology Education Outstanding Teacher Award from the U.S. Department of the Air Force and the 2007 Distinguished Service Award of Excellence from the Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2008 sales of 255 million tons and $6.6 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.

Logos School is an independent, alternative, therapeutic school in St. Louis. The school is dedicated to assisting students and their families with academic and emotional needs that have not been met in a traditional classroom. Founded in 1970, Logos has helped more than 1,400 at-risk adolescents to achieve a high school diploma.

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SOURCE: Peabody Energy