Welcome to my faculty webpage.  I am Chris Gareis and I currently serve as Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Professional Services in the School of Education at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

At William & Mary, I teach doctoral, master’s, and baccalaureate courses in curriculum, instruction, instructional leadership, and assessment. I am also a licensed professional teacher in Virginia and have taught 8th, 10th, and 11th grade English, public speaking, and 6th grade math and science, both in public and private school settings.   I  hold K-12 administrative credentials and have served as a middle school assistant principal and principal and also as assistant to the superintendent.  I joined the School of Education at William & Mary in 2001 and was tenured as Associate Professor in 2008.  I have served twice in the role as Associate Dean, first from 2001 to 2005, and then from 2009 to the present.  In this role, I oversee the teacher preparation programs, including coordinating field experiences, partnerships, accreditation, and the Clinical Faculty Program.

I am also an active educational researcher and writer.  My areas of interest include classroom-based assessment, teacher preparation, mentoring, teacher evaluation, teacher compensation, strategic planning, and program evaluation.  I have co-authored books on teacher-made assessments, teacher portfolios, and teacher compensation.  My scholarship also includes journal articles, a book chapter, and numerous professional presentations and addresses at local, state, and national conferences.  I was honored to be a co-recipient of the first School Technology Leadership Research Award from UCEA in 2007 and to receive the Charles Clear Research Award from VERA in 2009.

A significant facet of my professional identity is my service to the field of education beyond my teaching and research.  I am active on local, state, and national boards and committees, including CREATE.  In addition, I professionally consult with schools and school divisions in Virginia and other states on issues and projects related to classroom-based assessment, mentoring novice teachers, teacher evaluation, teacher compensation, strategic planning, and program evaluation.  In 2011, I had the special honor of guest lecturing at Yunnan Normal University and then consulting with educators in schools in Kunming, China.  Please visit my Service to the Field page to learn more about some of this work.

On a more personal note, I was born to Phyllis and Donald Gareis in 1965 in Chicago, Illinois, the third of four children.  I was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, attending Briarlake Elementary School and graduating from Lakeside High School, both in the DeKalb County Public School System.  I then attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, indulging my bliss with a double-major in English and East Asian Studies and graduating in 1988.  I have been a lifelong soccer player, lettering four years in college, continuing to play as an adult, and now coaching my youngest child's team.  I am also an avid and eclectic reader of fiction and non-fiction.  I have fun canoeing, hiking, shooting archery, watching a good movie, sketching, traveling, and throwing the frisbee for my dog.  My great love is my wife, Molly, who is a talented in innumerable ways and wise beyond her years.  Molly is a teacher, too, and currently serves as Director of the Williamsburg Parent Cooperative Preschool.  We have three children, each unique in his or her own right—Hance, Isabelle, and Anne Ryan.  We live in Williamsburg, Virginia.