Performance Based Coach/Sponsor Evaluation
By Khris Thexton
Performance Based Coach/Sponsor Evaluation
Summary of Contents
This evaluation mirrors the responsibilities noted in the coach/sponsor’s job description. The job description, in turn, reflects the board-approved activity program goals. Teaching and learning are to occur in a safe and orderly environment and are to be done in a manner that respects the state and community stakeholders’ investment of resources. The evaluation also provides the opportunity to include ongoing, personal goals as a stand-alone performance area. By doing so, the evaluation contains a dynamic quality that is essential to evaluation legitimacy. The following explains what is contained in this evaluation instrument and the recommended method for performing evaluations.
The first item included in this section is a sample job description for the coach/sponsor. A good job description is vital to the evaluation process. The individual to be evaluated should be aware of the content of the board-approved job description, and both the coach/sponsor and the board president should sign the job description upon hiring and upon any revision.
Next is a procedural description for evaluating the coach/sponsor. Each task is briefly explained on the left, and the recommended timeframe for completion is listed on the right. This chart can be used as a quick reference guide so each step of the evaluation is carried out in an accurate and timely manner.
Immediately following the procedure chart is the evaluation instrument. The coach/sponsor should first do a self-evaluation. Two options are presented to the coach/sponsor. If the coach/sponsor believes he or she has adequately demonstrated the competency, he or she would mark the MET column and explain the evidence that led to that conclusion. If a competency has not been adequately demonstrated, the NOT MET box would be marked, and he or she would explain the evidence leading to that conclusion. Documents should be compiled that validate the self-evaluation. The coach/sponsor would then identify, based on the self-evaluation, no more than four performance areas on which to focus their improvement efforts. Targeting more than four will make it difficult for the coach/sponsor to address them adequately. When performance is already at a high level, sustaining performance and refining/replicating productive behaviors become the targeted areas.
The coach/sponsor’s evaluator should then receive the instrument, summary and the supporting documents. He or she evaluates the coach/sponsor using the documents provided by the coach/sponsor and other sources suggested on pages 17 and 18.
The principal and/or activities director, using information generated on the individual evaluations, should reach consensus about what will be indicated on the summary report the principal fills out. The performance standards and the narrative portion for each standard should reflect the opinion of the principal and activities director as a whole, not individuals. (This step is omitted if only the principal is responsible for the evaluation.)
The next page is for the principal to list up to four targeted improvement areas. The summary report and the list of improvement areas are kept for discussion with the coach/sponsor. A meeting with the coach/sponsor must be scheduled as soon as possible to review the evaluation and finalize the targeted improvement areas.
A form follows the instrument for the coach/sponsor to list the target areas and to identify activities and strategies to address them, as well as an appropriate timeframe for achieving them. The Performance Area Contract for Excellence (PACE) with Activities/Recommendations and an appropriate timeline is shared with the principal/athletic director in one to three weeks. After consideration and approval, the targeted areas are incorporated as a performance area for the next evaluation. Meeting those targets becomes a critical part of the next evaluation cycle. The summary report and the approved PACE, signed by the coach/sponsor and the principal, must be stored in a secure file.
