Superintendent's Biography
Personal: Charles Weis (pronounced Weese, like peace, and Chuck to his friends) was born in Santa Monica and raised in the San Fernando Valley community of Granada Hills. His wife, Patricia Walsh, is an educational consultant and his three children are students or graduates of California’s public schools and state universities. He and his family lived in the Ventura County communities of Fillmore, Ventura, Moorpark and Oxnard before moving to Santa Clara County in 2008.
Education: Dr. Weis earned a Bachelor’s Degree at UCLA, Master’s Degree at California State University, Northridge, and Ph.D. at University of California at Santa Barbara.
Employment: Dr. Weis became Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools in July 2008, and immediately took an active role in education and community issues and organizations in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area. He came to Santa Clara County following 15 years as Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Weis started working in Ventura County in 1973 as a consultant to special projects. He owned and operated a consulting firm from 1974 to 1980, serving school districts and businesses throughout California. The firm specialized in providing educational psychology services, and constructing and implementing educational program planning and evaluation services. In July 1980, he joined the staff of Fillmore Unified School District as Director of Special Services. While in Fillmore, Dr. Weis served as a high school and an elementary school principal and was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services. Dr. Weis was appointed Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in 1990 for the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office. During this time, he taught summer session graduate-level courses in educational measurement at California Lutheran University. In January 1993, Dr. Weis was appointed Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. In June 1994, he was elected to his first four-year term as Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. In June 2002, he was re-elected to his third term, and ran unopposed in 2006. He also served as part-time faculty in the graduate school of education at California State University, Channel Islands; California State University, Northridge; California Lutheran University; and Pepperdine University. In October 2002, the California State Board of Education appointed Dr. Weis as its representative on the No Child Left Behind Liaison Team. He also serves on the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) No Child Left Behind Task Force.
Community Service: Since his arrival in Santa Clara County, Dr. Weis has served on the executive committee of the Gateways Cradle to Career Education and Workforce Partnership; the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce; the Juvenile Justice Systems Collaborative; Kids in Common-Children’s Agenda Vision Council; 6th District PTA; the Santa Clara County Education Coalition Board; as well as the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee.
In southern California, Dr. Weis served on the Public School Accountability Act (SB 1X) Advisory Committee, Ventura County Children and Families First Commission, the Ventura County Regional P-16 Council, the Ventura County Arts Council, Ventura County Discovery Center Advisory Board, Ventura County Tech Prep/School-to-Career Consortium, and Ventura County Economic Development Association-Education Committee. He served on the 37th Assembly District Education Advisory Committee, Ventura County Literacy Council, Ventura County Maritime Museum Board, SACC Assistive Technology Center Board, Ventura County Public Health Community Advisory Board, Ventura County Interagency Juvenile Justice Council, Ventura County Children and Families First Commission, Camarillo Boy Scouts Community Advisory Board, UCSB Graduate School of Education Advisory Board, Hansen Trust Advisory Board and Public Policy Institute of California’s Education Advisory Committee.
He co-chaired the State Superintendent’s Universal Preschool Task Force and co-authored the Universal Preschool, Ready to Learn report. Dr. Weis authored the article Measuring Up: The API as a Planning Tool for the March/April 2000 issue of ACSA’s Leadership magazine and Tips From a Top Performer for its November/December 2000 issue. He was a member of the Camarillo Noon Rotary and a charter member of the Fillmore Sunriser Rotary. Dr. Weis served on the CSUN-VC Class Act Committee, Ventura County Community Foundation Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee, Ventura County Performing Arts Foundation Board, Council on Economic Vitality, Agricultural Literacy Council, Ventura County Children's Coordinating Council, Board of the Ventura County Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Ventura County Alcohol & Drug Program Master Plan Advisory Board.
Dr. Weis currently serves on the board and has been president of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA).
Currently, at the state level, Dr. Weis is a past president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA, 2009-10). As a member of the state Academic Content Standards Commission, Dr. Weis helped develop new language arts and mathematics common core content standards that were approved by the state Board of Education in July 2010. He also serves on the Education Advisory Board of the Public Policy Institute of California, and served on the California State PTA Education Commission from 2007 to 2009. Active in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, he is a member of the Superintendents Council of the California School Boards Association and the Advisory Committee of the Public School Accountability Act.
Honors: In 2010, Dr. Weis was honored by the Santa Clara County After School Collaborative for his support and contributions to after-school programs. Dr. Weis received the “Executive Leadership Award” from the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association in 2009. That same year he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from California Lutheran University, received the Kidango “You Made the Difference” inspirational leader award, and was presented with the California State PTA’s Honorary Service Award. In 2002, Dr. Weis received the PTA Golden Oak Award and the Anti-Defamation League Award. In May 2000, he was presented with the ACSA Region XIII Marcus Foster Award for Administrator Excellence. Dr. Weis earned the “Educator Award” from Ventura County Planned Parenthood in December 1999, the same year he received the Ventura County Reading Association’s “Exceptional Educator Award.” In 1998, Dr. Weis earned the “President’s Award” from the Ventura County Mathematics Council and the “Administrative Excellence Award” from ACSA’s South Ventura Chapter. He received the “1997-98 Educational Leadership Award” from Phi Delta Kappa, Buenaventura Chapter. In 1997, Dr. Weis received the “Smart Villager Award” for the Rain Network’s Community Technology Project. He was awarded the “Outstanding Public Service Award” in December 1996 from the California Farm Bureau and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. In 1996, he also earned the Ventura County Economic Development Association’s “Dr. James Cowan Award of Excellence in Education,” the Anti-Defamation League’s “Distinguished Public Service Award,” and the Association of California School Administrators Region XIII “Superintendent of the Year” honor. Dr. Weis received the “Gold Award” from the California Teachers Association in 1994 and the “Honorary Service Award” from the 12th District PTA in 1995.
Date last updated: January 6, 2011