Posted by DR. PROTUS TANIFORM on 3/04/05

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PAPER ON THE SUPERVISION OF INSTRUCTION
Instructional supervision is the art of overseeing
the teaching and learning process in an academic
institution, and, therefore, making sure the institution is
administered, managed, and lead in an effective manner, so
as to come up with an effective learning institution with a
sane and consistent school culture.
The purpose of supervision of instruction is partly
to set up normative rules and regulations. Supervisors set
local ground rules that set the tone. In an academic
institution, like in any other institution, ground rules
set the tone. Ground rules are the genesis of the culture
of any school. These norms run the gamut of attendance,
assiduity, students’ behavior, expectations, safety,
security, respect for the constitution of the nation,
communication, support and so on. Supervisors lay out our
structured daily routines. The elements of a structured
daily routine are: arriving on campus on time, respecting
school schedule and time table, honoring all bells as
appropriate, meeting the standards of the school district,
respecting school rules and regulations, and participating
in assigned activities.
The authorities that should supervise include
principals, assistant principals, counselors, teachers, and
other support personnel on campus (Wells, 2004).
Supervision on school campuses is not only the task of
administrators, but also that of all other adults on
campus. Supervision goes hand in hand with safety and
security issues. Therefore, the school police and security
guards are instrumental toward school supervision and the
guarantee of safety and security.
Successful supervisors should be knowledgeable
about educational leadership, management, and
administration. They should know the culture of their
schools and school communities. The challenges mounted
against school supervision portray different ramifications
in affluent and low-income communities.
A successful supervisor of instruction should be
knowledgeable of real life issues like the ones I have
analyzed for this paper. There has also been a paradigm
shift in the mainstream culture, whereby residence in the
suburbs or out of the inner city is construed as an
indicator of success. The stigmatization of inner-city life
has groomed this stereotype, which is sporadically imbued
with violence, shootings, drugs, prostitution, and, more
generally, skyrocketing crime rates. The media has worsened
this school of thought by dramatizing negative events in
the cities.
Inner-city populations are partly constituted of a
conglomeration of new-arrival immigrants, most of whom come
in as economic, religious, political, and cultural
refugees. Many fled from famine (Ethiopians, Sudanese,
Somalis, etc), from wars and political unrest (Haitians,
Somalis, Rwandans, Burundians, Cameroonians, etc), from
economic crisis in their home countries (Chinese, Mexicans,
Cubans, Nigerians, Cameroonians, etc.), and from many other
unbearable situations. Unfortunately, most of these new
immigrants are poor and wind up in the poor inner-city
pockets, some call them ghettos, where housing is cheap,
and low-paying jobs are easily available. However, I am not
refuting the fact that a good number of them stream to the
small cities, suburbs, city outskirts, villages, and farms.
An example, worthy of notice, is the influx of refugees
from war-torn Sudan to Omaha, Nebraska, where they have
established veritable Sudanese communities.
Inner-city immigrant groups have seen a lot of
European immigrants over the last several centuries, but
they represent a very small number now, when compared to
the number of colored inner-city inhabitants and immigrants
in general. This assertion dispels the paradigm that
immigration in the United States is purely a non-White
issue; American immigrants have been known to come form all
over the world, and they are always welcome, even though
many immigrants still come in under unacceptable and
illegal methods.
The incoming poor immigrants blend with the low-
income inner-city populations and the resultant is a
community of low socio-economic status, bearing all the
characteristics that come with the tag, “low socio-economic
status”. Immigrant families that integrate directly into
the affluent communities are rare, and even when these
cases are seen, they show up rarely, and would just be
categorized as exceptions.
Socio-economic status and success in education are
directly linked. More affluent communities and
neighborhoods produce better test scores than less affluent
communities and neighborhoods. This conclusion was very
evident when I compared test scores for students of Compton
Unified School District, California, and those for the
students of Palos Verdes Unified School District,
California, from 1999 to 2004. The students in the former
performed poorly when compared with students in the latter
district.
On one hand, Compton City, the bearer of Compton
Unified School District, is predominantly made up of low-
income families, although there are pockets of affluent
blocks in the city. The community contributes less toward
the schools of the district and parental participation
toward the educational process is poor and almost
inexistent. On the other hand, Palos Verdes, is an upscale
neighborhood on the coast hills of Los Angeles County;
perhaps the dream neighborhood of many Californian
inhabitants. The high level of success of students in Palos
Verdes School District tell a lot about the contribution of
the highly educated and rich parents of the city, whose
wealth has brought to bear on the educational process. Due
to the nature of their highly lucrative professions, they
always find time to contribute toward the education of
their children, as opposed to most parents of low income
communities, who work around the clock and at minimum wage
and barely have enough time to raise their children, let
alone participate in their educational process. The bigger
question we will examine later is whether inner city kids
are privileged with parents.

Dropout Rates in Inner-city Schools as Opposed to Suburban
and Outskirts Schools

It is a fact that the dropout rates in American
inner-city schools are higher than in the suburbs and
outskirts. A comparative study among the inner city schools
of Los Angeles and the suburban schools on the peripheries
of Los Angeles County, California illustrates the
discrepancy in dropout rates.
A successful supervisor should be able to
understand and accommodate different cultures and realities
of his or her school community; our society is becoming
very diverse. The supervisor should have got interpersonal
skills and be able to lead, manage, and administer under a
wide spectrum of issues and circumstances.
The instructional needs of a teacher are good
teacher training, supplies and materials for the teacher
and her or his students, professional development seminars
and meetings, a safe and healthy learning environment, a
reasonable salary and benefits, and so on.
Positive relationships between supervisors and
teachers are collaboration in the delivery of instruction,
classroom management, discipline on campus, and general
safety and security on campus. Supervisors should make
available to teachers what they need to succeed and give a
constructive criticism of what teachers are doing.
Evaluations of teachers should therefore be fair and
considerate, and teachers should be given enough time to
improve their performance. Teachers must always be informed
as to what is expected of them. Supervisors should do
everything possible to meet the needs of teachers, because
they rely on these needs to succeed.
Part of the activities of the instructional
supervisor is to see into it that teachers commit
themselves to the following classroom daily routines:
I. Daily agenda and standards are to be posted daily.
II. Maintain daily lesson plans throughout the school year.
III. Develop standards-based pacing plans.
IV. Develop teacher-created standards-based assessments.
V. Attendance: Daily attendance expected of all students
and teachers, and supervisors should work with students
toward achieving this goal.
Supervisors have the responsibility to see into it
that students are in school and in class on time and attend
all classes and assigned activities. Students are to be
accounted for at all times during the school day (Essex,
2002). More specifically:
1.A student may not be absent from school except for
reasons of health or family emergency.
2. A student may not leave school during the regularly
scheduled school day without being dismissed by a school
authority.
3. A student may not be consistently late to school.
4. A student may not be late to class or a scheduled
activity.
5. A student may not skip class.
6.A student may not refuse to remain after school for
discipline or extra help.

ABSENCES
California State Law requires that students must attend
school. All students are expected to be in school every
school day and supervisors must take appropriate measures
regarding effective attendance and should not condon.
1. Truancy
2. Missing the bus
3. Shopping
4. Babysitting
5. Over-sleeping
6. Car Trouble/traffic problems
7. Staying home to do homework
8. Staying home because of staying up late the previous
night (even if related to school activities - drama, dance,
sports, etc.)
If a legitimate, medically documented, long-term
illness prevents you from attending school, your
parent/guardian should contact the school so tutorial
services can be provided by the school department at no
cost to parents. Parents of students with a high rate of
absenteeism (more than 10% of the total number of school
days up to that point) will be notified by the heatlh
technician to determine if a health problem exits, and she
or he will recommend a medical consultation. If no health
problem exists and absences continue, supervisors will
contact parents. If there is no improvement in attendance,
the following steps may be taken:
1. Parent/student conference with an administrator
2. Referral to the Student Attendance & Review Board (SARB)
3. Referral to Probation Officer

VACATION TRIPS
Absences due to vacation trips are not excused.
Before making vacation plans, parents should consult the
school calendar. Parents are strongly discouraged from
taking their children out of school for family vacations
because valuable classroom instruction time can never be
replaced by make-up assignments. When parents decide to
take their children out of school for vacations, they must
notify the school of their intentions. Because such
extended absences are not excused, students are expected to
request and make-up their work upon their return.

DISMISSALS
Dismissals from school for important reasons should
be requested, in writing, in advance, from school
supervisors. If you are to be dismissed, a written request,
including phone number for verification from your parent or
guardian, should be brought in on the morning of the day in
question to the Attendance Office. Students who are
dismissed and return to school the same day must report to
the Attendance Office in order to be readmitted to class.
Dental and medical appointments should not be scheduled
during the school day.
Because of our concern for student safety, telephone
requests for dismissal will not be honored. In addition,
students may not be released to any individual(s) other
than those listed on the student's emergency card, unless
written permission is given. Supervisors carry the burden
of guaranteeing that these norms are respected.
If you leave school grounds without authorization
before the end of the school day, you will be considered
truant and not allowed to return until a parent conference
is set up with school officials. Your parents and the
juvenile police officer will be notified immediately of the
incident. Disciplinary action will be taken, including make-
up of lost time after school. In case of illness, the
dismissal of the students must be approved by the health
official on site.
Supervisors should chair on-going professional development
and additional recommended professional development
trainings.
VI. Maintain a parent communication log. Contact parents of
students who missed two or more days within a month and for
any other individual issues.
VII. Updated bulletin board with classroom and school rules
posted.
VIII. Maintain a safe, secure, print-rich, and clean
classroom. Student attendance should not be misconstrued as
just having students show up on campus. These students must
fulfill their academic obligations, and, therefore, they
deserve to be given the means they need to succeed.
In order to render the delivery of instruction a more
meaningful endeavor, school supervisors must establish a
fruitful network with all stakeholders. The community, the
police, businesses, the federal, state, and local
governments, faculty and staff, students, administrators,
support staff, and so on, are collaborators of school
supervisors. If they do not work together, then the running
of the school, and, of course, its supervision will be far
from ever being a success.

REFENCES
Essex, N. School Law and the Public Schools. 2nd edition.
Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA, 2002.
Sergiovanni, T. and R. Sarrat, Supervision: a redefinition.
7th edition. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2002.
Wells, F. School and Classroom Supervision. L.A.U.S.D. 2004.

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