How to Hold Impactful Staff Evaluations

Evaluations are tough, for both you and your staff. Something to keep in mind is that evaluations aren’t just numbers on a chart, but an opportunity for growth. Your feedback is important and if you want your staff to feel like they belong to a community, you want to provide valuable insights into their progress as an educator. 

To promote professional development within your staff, and prevent them from feeling like a chore, here are some strategies we suggest you implement before, during, and after an evaluation. A little planning and thoughtfulness can go a long way to building a meaningful relationship with your educators and seeing them become successful. 

1. Schedule the evaluations
   Most educators do not like to be surprised when it comes to evaluations. Create a calendar or use a scheduling platform like Calendly, to give your staff the option to choose when they want to be evaluated. In most cases, it is easier to conduct all evaluations within the one month, or set time frame, depending on how many educators you have. This gives them time to prepare for their lesson. 

2. Set expectations
   Transparency fosters trust. Give your staff the evaluation form that you will be using, so they know what they’re being measured on. What domains are they being evaluated on? What makes a highly effective evaluation versus just an effective one? Outline these expectations to set your educators up for success. 

3. Offer pre-evaluation meetings
   Before conducting evaluations, offer your teachers and staff the opportunity to speak to you about their lesson. This is a chance for them to be vulnerable and show you their lesson plan beforehand. Offer them helpful tips on how to improve their lesson, if any. This is beneficial for both you and your staff. They can receive feedback before the formal evaluation, and you can see if they implement your feedback during the actual lesson. 

4. Give them time for self-reflection
   Before sending over your feedback, allow your staff to reflect on their own lesson. You can do this by providing them with a self-reflection form, and asking them to note any strengths and areas of improvements they may have. It does not have to be a formal write-up, but it can be talking points for a post evaluation meeting. You can also see if their notes align with your feedback.

5. Provide thoughtful feedback
   Your evaluation should not be a word-for-word transcript of what happened during the lesson. It should be a summary of what happened during the lesson, highlighting strengths and offering suggestions for how to improve the lesson. These suggestions should be limited to 3-5 bullet points and offer opportunities for growth. It should also be noted how severe these areas of improvements are. Will they lose their job if they cannot implement these changes? Is it something you’d like to see immediately, or something you want to see over the course of a few months? Is it something both of you can work on together? 

Evaluations don’t have to be stressful, a little preparation can make things easier for everyone. By taking the steps necessary, you can ensure a smooth evaluation process. 

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