Monica Stonier says she loves what she does for a living: working as a seventh-grade teacher and instructional coach at Pacific Middle School in Vancouver.
Her sudden immersion in politics happened two years ago, when her party tapped her to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Five months later, she found her way to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to witness the historic swearing-in of President Barack Obama.
“I think after that experience, I really started to see the potential role I could have in the community as an advocate for education,” Stonier said.
That opportunity came sooner than she expected, when state Rep. Deb Wallace bowed out of the 3rd Congressional District race in February and said she wouldn’t run for re-election to her 17th Legislative District seat. Wallace later endorsed Stonier to succeed her.
“When that seat opened up, it really became a possibility for me,” the 38-year-old mother of two said. “I realized that the office could be an extension of my teaching.”
Stonier said she has firm ideas about what needs to be fixed in the classroom. A member of the Washington Education Association, she’s the union’s representative at her school where she designed and teaches a seventh-grade language arts-social studies class for special-education students. She also coaches other teachers in effective instructional techniques.
“I have an understanding of classroom teaching, and I’m also a supporter of professional development for teachers,” Stonier said. “The best way to improve student achievement is to improve the quality of teaching. I think that is one of the areas where people in Olympia may not understand the right questions to ask.”
One of those questions, Stonier said, is whether a new law requiring teachers to obtain professional certification within five years is the best way to improve teaching.
That requirement “is based on the assumption that there is something wrong with the teacher,” she said. “There is very little support for it. It’s a burden on families. We have to find ways to tailor support to what teachers are actually asking for.”
What they are asking for, she said, is more support for kids and teachers.
“We lose almost half our teachers in the first five years. Teachers don’t stay; they don’t get paid enough to feed their families,” she said. “The general public doesn’t understand that schools are not what they used to be; teaching is not what it was 20 years ago. The needs that our kids come to us with are greater. Parents are depending more on schools to provide for their children.”
Stonier has raised more than $11,000 and won endorsements from a number of prominent local Democrats. The product of a multiethnic family — her father is Mexican, her mother Mexican and Japanese — she has also been endorsed by the Democratic Party’s Hispanic and Latin Caucus, and Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“I am very excited about having such support,” Stonier said. “All my fundraising is grass-roots contributions.”
She will face software developer and Democrat Martin Hash, and Republicans Mark Pelletier, a community activist, and Paul Harris, a businessman, in the August top two primary.
Stonier said she hasn’t figured out whether she could continue teaching while serving in the Legislature.
Her interests transcend education reform, she said.
“Education is my passion and where my career is, but I really want to work for our families in Clark County,” she said. “I know the struggles our families are dealing with. I think our residents want someone who is just like them, who isn’t a career politician, who has kids, and a mortgage and a dog. People are tired of the political climate. They just want someone to go up there and do a good job for them.”
“That’s who I would want representing me.”
Kathie Durbin: 360-735-4523 or kathie.durbin@columbian.com.
