Candidate Biography
Holly Raser, 55, has been a Montana teacher for 26 years. She attended the University of Montana where she received her BA in Education in 1980 and her MA in 1992. She has taught in classrooms grades K – 5, a Gifted and Talented program, Title 1, and currently teaches first grade at Target Range School in Missoula.
An advocate for early reading intervention, she helped implement a very successful reading assessment program, focusing on early detection and intervention to prevent reading difficulties. She also served as a Reading Fellow for OPI's Reading Excellence grant, mentoring schools in developing comprehensive reading assessment and instruction programs. She has been a frequent presenter at teacher conferences and workshops, including MEA-MFT, Five Valleys Reading Conference, and Newspapers in Education. She was also formerly a consultant for Northwest Evaluation Association, creators of Achievement Level Tests used by many Montana school districts.
Holly is also a four-term legislator who has served in the House of Representatives since 2001. She represents HD 98 in northwest Missoula. She sponsored OPI's school funding bills in 2003 and 2005, and her major legislative focus has been education issues. She has served on a variety of committees with educational leaders from across the state. Among them are:
She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the House Education Committee.
Raser lives in Missoula with her two daughters, Caitlin and Alyssa.