Evaluating your teachers shows you which members of your staff are going above and beyond their duties for the sake of your students, and which staff members may have areas in which they could improve. A system for evaluation also serves to help you make hiring and firing decisions as well as to set a precedent for determining potential pay raises and bonuses. Evaluations help build a system of accountability into your daycare center.
One of the easiest ways in which to evaluate the performance of your teachers is to sit in on a class with them. If you are the sole manager of your daycare operation, you may find making time for this observation difficult. It is critical to have some understanding of how your teachers interact with students and how they perform on a day-to-day basis; make time each month to observe each of your teachers. Observation can be executed by simply sitting in the back of a classroom and taking notes on what you see, or by participating in classroom activities to get an idea of the effectiveness of the instructor. You can also passively observe teachers any time you walk by their areas to spot trouble behaviors they may cover or avoid when they know you're observing.
Provide parents with forms in which they can rate the performance of their kids' teachers. Parents are not always the best source of information as they do carry a bias for their children, but large amounts of data from a wide range of parents can help you to spot problem areas with each of your teachers. If the majority of surveys about a certain teacher indicate that he or she is rude to students, for instance, it is a safe bet there is some room for improvement.
Several traits can be used to identify a good daycare teacher. They should be alert to their surroundings and constantly supervise students at play. They should provide a strong behavioral example by acting politely and avoiding negative confrontations. Good daycare teachers should provide emotional support to students by creating a positive and engaging environment in which they can learn and express themselves. Finally, a good daycare teacher should always have complete control over her classroom and should never seem flustered by the chaotic energy children can create.