Employee Evaluation

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happy employees with thumbs up — Collaboration to promote continuous growth

Through collaborative work, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) helps local educational agencies create evaluation systems that foster continuous growth and development for employees, ultimately benefitting students.

More to Explore

Classified Evaluation Project

Do you want to increase employee engagement, job satisfaction, and development? Through the collaborative creation of local performance management systems, SDCOE's Classified Evaluation Project fosters employee growth, engagement, and job satisfaction.

This project engages district or charter school teams to examine the current evaluation system through the following components of effective systems:

Stakeholder engagement
Performance criteria
Goal setting
Multiple measures
Meaningful feedback
Qualified evaluators
Professional development

Program Opportunities

Receive ongoing facilitation and resources throughout the development process
Engage in a team-learning process facilitated by SDCOE staff
Enhance labor and management relationships
Shift the culture of evaluation to employee growth and development

Program Requirements

Establish a joint agreement to participate between employee association and district leadership
Select a team with equal representation from association members and administrators
Participate in monthly facilitated work sessions
Establish a growth-based performance management system

Cost

The Classified Evaluation Project is a cost-recovery model. The program fee includes the facilitation of all work sessions, technical assistance, materials, and resources.

Start Date

Program start date determined by district or organization.

If you are interested in receiving more information, please sign up on the interest list below.

Interest list

Forward Coaching: Coaching Conversations for Educational Leaders

Forward Coaching Workshop

Elevate your leadership skills with the Forward Coaching: Skillful Coaching Conversations to Improve Professional Practice workshop. Designed for leaders in all educational roles, this two-day training provides the tools you need to foster professional growth and lead impactful conversations that drive meaningful change.

Who Should Attend

District and site leaders, mentor teachers, peer coaches, administrators, classified managers—anyone in a leadership role looking to enhance their communication and coaching strategies.

What You’ll Gain

Develop strategies to overcome barriers to change.
Strengthen reflective and directive communication to meet diverse needs.
Apply evidence-based practices to guide professional growth.
Refine your coaching skills to support impactful outcomes.

Workshop Details

Dates: July 24 and July 25, 2025
Time: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: San Diego County Office of Education, 6401 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
Cost: $350 per person (includes resources, breakfast, and lunch)

How to Register

Space is limited. Reserve your spot and invest in your professional growth by registering today.

Empower yourself to lead with confidence and transform your conversations into catalysts for growth and success.

Educator Effectiveness and Evaluation Program

SDCOE's Educator Effectiveness and Evaluation (E3) program is a growth-oriented approach to revising teacher evaluation systems which are referred to as growth systems throughout the process. This approach will help you create a comprehensive growth system that is supportive and promotes educator growth and collaboration among site leaders and teachers. Our staff is available to provide support during all phases of planning, piloting, and revising the program, as well as ongoing facilitation for your team. With this in mind, our goal is to create a growth system that goes above and beyond the status quo, ensuring that the development of your staff and systems is maximized and the impact of your organization on students is quantifiable and meaningful.

The driving force behind the E3 initiative is meaningful data around student impact. The E3 project provides a safe and collaborative space where stakeholders, labor and management, develop a context-driven, local educator growth system that aligns with district priorities.

Winner of the Golden Bell Award 2018

Program Plan

District and school teams engage in a two-year process to analyze their current evaluation system based on nationally researched components, that include:

Stakeholder engagement
Professional standards
Multiple measures
Meaningful feedback
Qualified evaluators
Professional development aligned to teacher needs and context

The SDCOE facilitators use team learning to review research and present strategies to assist your team in redesigning your district or school's professional growth system.

Work session design

During the work sessions, your SDCOE facilitators will guide discussions around common language, multiple measures, observations and meaningful feedback, peer support, and capacity building. Team members will have the time and opportunity to reflect, provide input, and design growth-minded components, processes, and procedures unique to their district or school.

Within two years of participation, districts will have piloted a system, collected data, trained stakeholders, reflected on data, and revised the system/process accordingly.

program benefits

Support and facilitation throughout the development process
Create a context-driven, growth-oriented model for teacher evaluation and effectiveness
Strengthen collaboration and communication between labor and management
Enhance teacher leadership through professional development
Develop a culture of growth-minded professional learning.

program commitments

Establish a joint agreement between association and district leadership to collaboratively participate in this process
Create a team of six to ten participants with equal representation from teacher associations and administrators.
Year One: Participate in six to eight work sessions
Year Two: Participate in four to five work sessions

cost

The E3 program is a cost-recovery model. The program fee includes the facilitation of all work sessions, technical assistance, materials, and resources.

research resources

Greatness By Design Report, CDE (PDF)
CTA White Paper on Effective Teacher Evaluation (PDF)
Measures of Effective Teaching Study, Gates Foundation
Getting Teacher Evaluation Right, Linda Darling-Hammond
CSTP Continuum of Teaching Practice (PDF)
Mind Shift of Teacher Evaluation, Center for Great Teachers and Leaders

Testimonials

"Building this new eval system is an organic process that is collaborative in nature."

- Principal, Rio School District

"I particularly liked thinking about the importance of including teacher contribution in the evaluation instrument. This is an area of significant importance in a small school district."

- Interim sup/principal, Spencer Valley School District

"It’s not rocket science but it does take discussion, collaboration to get different perspectives in looking at our current system and thinking of the elements of a rework."

- Principal, Rio School District

Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the provided responses for questions frequently asked about the E3 program

Click here for E3 FAQ

Peer Assistance and Review: Training for Support Teachers

Peer Assistance and Review (PAR): Training for Support Teachers is a five-week online experience designed to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills to provide effective peer coaching and support. Please expect to commit approximately eight hours at your own pace to work through the five distinct modules.

Interest List

Topics Covered

The role of a PAR support teacher
How to utilize adult learning theory to increase teacher engagement
Components of effective coaching
Utilizing California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) as a common language to support growth
Observing teacher practice
Effective feedback
How to facilitate difficult conversations
Strategies for providing support in a virtual environment

Audience

This course is appropriate for teachers, mentors, coaches, or principals who provide support within a site or district PAR program or during an evaluation cycle.

Cost

$50 per participant
Purchase orders and credit cards are accepted
Credit card payment links are sent after registering

FinalPARTrainingflyer-interestlist (PDF)

Employee Evaluation contacts

DesMonae Gipson

Admin Asst I - Confidential

Linda Vista Campus

School: 858-295-6835

Amber Dunnagan

Director, Certificated HR

Linda Vista Campus

School: 858-295-8905

Dr. Sheiveh Jones

Exec Dir., Teacher Eff

Linda Vista Campus

School: 858-295-8806