Community+Analysis


 * **Community Analysis**

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 * L.A. Matheson Secondary is a special school where ** **//the surrounding community deeply impacts the students, and the students deeply impact the community// . It is an inner-city school where much of the population may have financial and language obstacles. The teaching and the //library media centre's collections must reflect the total needs of the students and community// . Core curriculum must be supported and enriched, but the social context of the community must be supported through the collection as well. Below are two videos illustrating the social responsibility theme that runs through the school as we as a community strive for empathy, support and connectivity. **

**Data and Description:** **School and Community Population Data** **Neighbourhood Amenities** ** The Now ** || **Kwantlen University College Surrey Campus** || ** Black Bond Books ** ** Sue’s Used Books ** || ** 12 Elementary schools ** || ** 1 Khalsa school ** || ** School Programs and Clubs: ** ***Note: Committees are staffed by teachers and school staff (such as counselors and youth care workers) and clubs are staffed by students with 1 or more sponsor teachers.** **As chronic truancy is one of the largest factors of student struggles, academically and socially at the school, we have a truancy committee that have been conducting action research in how to best support these most vulnerable students, families, and how to support staff working with these families. An article presenting the data collected and findings decided can be read in the following link: [|Leadership For Learning: Chronic Truancy Action Research]** ** Potential Partner/Community Resources: **
 * ** Grade 12 Enrollment ** || **244** ||
 * ** Graduation Rate % ** || **91.6** ||
 * ** Delayed Advancement Rate % ** || **20.4** ||
 * ** ELL % ** || **10.2** ||
 * ** Special Needs % ** || **14** ||
 * ** Aboriginal Population % ** || **6** ||
 * ** Parents’ Average Income ** || **52,700** ||
 * ** Female Lone-Parent Average Income ** || **34,552** ||
 * ** Family Households with income below 30, 000 (poverty line) % ** || **16** ||
 * ** Students whose home language is not English % ** || **61** ||
 * ** Education Attainment of Population age 25-64: High school Diploma % ** || **78** ||
 * ** Education Attainment of Population age 25-64: Bachelors Degree or higher % ** || **13** ||
 * ** Mobility statistics of population over 5 years: Non-Movers ** || **48** ||
 * ** Mobility Status of population over 5 years: Movers ** || **52** ||
 * ** Lone Parent Households % ** || **32** ||
 * ** Participation in Employment Rate % for Surrey North ** || **67** ||
 * ** Unemployment Rate % for Surrey North ** || **7** ||
 * ** Medical Clinics within 5 km ** || **4** ||
 * ** Government Offices **
 * (Employment Office, MLA Offices, District Education Centre) ** || **5** ||
 * ** Local Newspapers ** || ** The Leader **
 * ** Local Libraries ** || **Surrey Central Library** ||
 * ** Post Secondary Institutions ** || **Simon Fraser University Surrey**
 * ** Book stores (within 10 km) ** || ** Chapters **
 * ** Transportation accessibilities ** || **Bus & skytrain readily accessible and frequent services throughout community** ||
 * ** Public schools within 10 km ** || ** 4 Secondary schools **
 * ** Private schools within 10 km ** || ** 1 Secondary school **
 * **All traditional Academics, grade 8-12**
 * **Media Studies 9-12**
 * **Information and Technology Studies 8-12**
 * **Entrepreneurship 12**
 * **Film and Media 11/12**
 * **Marketing 12**
 * **Creative Writing 12**
 * **Philosophy 12**
 * **Social Justice 12**
 * **Peer Counselling 12**
 * **Family Studies 11/12**
 * **Culinary Arts 10-12**
 * **Humanities Co-op**
 * **Business Education Co-op**
 * **Science & Technology Co-op**
 * **Science Co-op**
 * **Work Experience 12**
 * **Global Issues Club**
 * **Multicultural Club**
 * **Dance Committee**
 * **Social Justice Committee**
 * **Social Responsibility Club**
 * **Literacy Committee**
 * **Grade 10 Achievement Committee**
 * **Environmental Club**
 * **Student Council**
 * **Gay Straight Alliance**
 * **At-Risk Youth Committee**
 * **Y.E.S Program**
 * **Aboriginal Support Worker support**
 * **Youth Care Worker support**
 * ====== **__ [|Surrey School District (sd36) Aboriginal Department] __ - support for aboriginal learners in the Surrey School District. Our school works closely as a staff and with our Aboriginal Support Worker, and At-Risk Youth Committee within the school to provide assistance to your Aboriginal Youth. This could include bringing in Aboriginal speakers to share with small groups, whole classes, and the whole school. Through Aboriginal Awareness Week, and continued involvement throughout the year in the LIbrary's Collection, our Aboriginal youth and the student population at large can explore aboriginal issues, through fiction, non-fiction, audiovisual resources, guest speakers and other outreach programs, such as the Aboriginal Canada Portal (__ Aboriginal Canada Portal __) and Aboriginal Healing Foundation ( Aboriginal Healing Foundation ).** ======
 * **Burns Bog Society is a local environmental non-profit organization that specializes in education, awareness and community action. In produces a local environmental newsletter that could be housed in the school, and students perhaps could write for the local organization. Moreover, the Burns Bog Society could work with classes in the school such as Science classes, as well as with the Environmental Club, to do environmental research, local area clean-ups, and a partnership of education and involvement.**
 * **P.A.C: For P.A.C fundraising use the library space, tour the library and collections to connect with what the library does for the school, and to continue generous support.**
 * **At-Risk Youth Committee, parents support. A major factor of our at-risk youth committee is parents' perception of education and level of education. The library could be used as a space for meetings and support not only for students at-risk youth focus group, but for parents as well. The library collection could keep resources for parents ranging from supporting their learning, to support materials for communicating and "navigating" the teen years, as well as career support materials and on-line connections.**
 * **SFU Surrey uses a space in our library for counseling training of mental health professionals. Also, SFU Surrey offers our students World History Literature 1000 level courses as an option while in their senior year. This existing relationship with SFU could be strengthened and supported through the school library's collections. The school library could house materials pertaining to these university studies, and an inter-library loan system could be arranged with the Surrey campus of SFU as their students and ours use each location. Moreover, a relationship and communication between the World Literature Professors and the Teacher-Librarian at L.A. Matheson could be established in order to ensure that the school's library has appropriate resources, particularly scholarly databases that will support the students' learning.**
 * **There is a local adult education school, Invergerie within the community. Many students immigrate to our community, but are at an age where our secondary school cannot provide them enough language instruction before they are eighteen years of age. Many students initially spend time at our school and then transfer for further instruction and to earn their Dogwood. These students live in the community and many have siblings and peers that still attend L.A. Matheson. A collaborative relationship could be created in which the students may use language learning instruction support materials at the school. Moreover, learning and community experiences where the students from Invergerie and Leadership classes, ELL classes or perhaps Social Studies 10 classes studying immigration stories could be established. this could involve a collaborative creation in which the Invergerie students tell their tales and the secondary students at our school research their country of origin.**
 * **Our school is rich in technology and media studies. This is a ripe opportunity to partner with the numerous elementary feeder schools that are within a block of the high school. A buddy system could be established in which high school students and elementary students investigate and create utilizing the library and school's media resources and tools.**
 * **Moreover, in actively promoting the love of reading, a buddy system between our feeder elementary schools and various English classes could be established where they create their own narratives, with the elementary students illustrating and secondary students writing. The library would be a perfect resource for such projects and for story-time presentations of the co-created works. These works could be bound into anthologies for future sharing and housed in the school libraries.**
 * **Creative Writing 12 is a new, thriving tradition at our school. The works the students create are works of learning, experimentation and pride. Normally these works are shared only within the class walls, but the library would be a perfect community hub to host poetry or creative writing cafes/showcases, and then the works could be anthologized and housed in the library for student interest and future teacher lessons.**
 * **The community population of L.A. Matheson has a high South Asian population. There are community organizations such as South Asian Student Advocacy by Teachers and South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence that target challenges particular to South Asian youth. The library could communicate and collaborate with these organizations to host youth workshops, parent guidance forums, and youth personal planning activities, experiences and lessons that would target not only our South Asian population, but also coordinate and support all grade 10 Planning teachers.**
 * **Raise a Reader program by exploring the new Surrey Central Library. Take a tour of the library and establish an inter-library loan system, acting as the liaison and support system for teachers wanting to communicate their curriculum with the public library for student resource support.**

**Grade 10 Context:**

**Grade 10 is a significant age group in students' secondary career and development. It's "the line of demarcation" between junior and senior level studies. It is also the first time students write provincial exams, rather than teacher created final assessments. In addition, it is the final year where students are required to take courses in every field, for a well-rounded education, as in grade eleven and twelve they have the freedom to specialize in courses and fields that will support their future goals in post-secondary learning and life. As such, even though they are only 15 or 16 years of age, they must have support in critical examination of their future options, personal reflection of their skills, values, attributes and goals, and support in planning for their future. At our school we have a PLC (Professional Learning Community) focused on improving Grade 10 achievement. There is evidence that as a grade/age group student achievement overall decreases compared to their junior years. This reality emphasizes the importance in every class, and in the library, that new approaches must be explored and implemented to better support our students in their learning across the board. This means that time management, study skills, motivation, personal organization, information literacy, comprehension and analysis must be improved, as well as effective communication skills in all areas. Furthermore, it has been recognized at our school and others that grade 10 is a particularly critical age for youth socially and personally. All students take Planning 10, a course designed to teach personal planning and life skills decisions. Also, the school library hosts Safeteen workshops in which female and male students work in gender specific workshops with young adult leaders who model and role play decision making skills in tough social situations such as bullying, sexual harassment, gossip, and assertive skills versus aggressive behaviour. The library can also house collections in these topics, ranging from self-help, non-fiction and fiction resources.**

**Curriculum Area:**

** Overall Socials 10 curriculum, of which I'm focusing on for this course assignment, is Canadian History 1815-1915. The socials curriculum, and thus particular library collection, must support the following: **
 * **Generally, students will use the collection for primary source analysis and research in all mediums, as well as direct instruction in information and media literacy. This includes print and digital sources, speeches, biographies, political cartoons, propaganda, historical fiction, novels and picturebooks (such as Arrival and Grandfather's Journey), graphic novels (such as Louis Riel: A Graphic Novel), websites, databases, and technological tools such as Glogster, Google Museum, and Story Box.**
 * **Geography-How resources impact people, economies, and the reciprocal relationship that exists between the two. Examining such relationships in past settlement and birth of industries in Canada as well as in present day Canada and globally, investigating environmental history and modern resource extraction and its impact on industries, economies and populations**
 * **Critical thinking skills: examining sources of history, understanding and recognizing bias, and the existence if multiple histories communicated in multiple forms. Also, critical thinking skills exercised through primary document evaluation, particularly visual communications such as propaganda and political cartoons**
 * **Effective communcation: Students as active shapers of the future, and as global citizens**
 * **Exploration of early government: investigate Candians' rights and rebellions. Understand that some Canadian figures from history are villianized, see the individuals of our nation's development, and the complexities of the rights gained over time and connect to today's democratic system and democratic rights. Furthermore, compare and contrast the struggles for democracy and development of Canadian system of government to those around the world, and their struggles for rights that are our history, but another's current fight.**
 * **Explore Canadian identity: Examine Canada's dark past, including the Chinese head tax, mistreatment of First Nations groups, Japanese Canadian internment and the Komogata Maru Affair. Examine multiculturalism and immigration in our nation's past and present and connect to today's formation of what it means to be Canadian.**
 * **Develop visual literacy skills including comprehension and analysis of graphs, maps, statistics, and media techniques**
 * **In my school this curriculum collection will be used by at least 300 students per year, as our grade 10 population fluctuates between 300-400 students enrolled in grade 10. However, the collection will be used by many more through an overlap of collection support in other curricula, such as in Geography 12, ELL classes, First Nations 12, Social Justice 12, as well as numerous other departments' learning activities, such as Writing Contests examining and arguing for the most influential Canadian.**



**Teachers:** **There are 9 teachers within the Social Studies Department. Six teachers have one or more classes of Socials 10, and will most directly make use of the collection:**

** Teacher 1: Teaches Humanities 8, Humanities Co-op 11, English 9-12, Communications 11 & 12, Socials 10 & 11, and Philosophy 12. Has five years teaching experience. Practices differentiated instruction, mainly through multiple intelligences model, and executes courses through Assessment For Learning practices. Eager supporter of collaboration amongst colleagues. Sponsor teacher of Global Issues Club and Co-chair of At-risk Youth Committee. Member of the school's Literacy PLC (Professional Learning Committee)**

** Teacher 2: Teaches Philosophy 12, Socials 9-11 and Humanities 8. Humanities Department Head. 20+ years of teaching experience. BCTF speaker. Practices a blend of Assessment Of and Assessment For Learning. Mentors numerous student teachers each year, and so students in the classes are exposed to a variety of teaching techniques and practices as advocated by their UBC or SFU Teaching Program.**

** Teacher 3: Teaches Humanities 8, Reception and Intermediate ELL, Socials 9 & 10. 6 years teaching experience. practices differentiated instruction and Assessment For Learning. member of the school's Literacy PLC. Eager supporter of collaboration amongst colleagues**

** Teacher 4: Teaches English 10, Socials 10, and Communications 11-12. Four years teaching experience. Practices Assessment For Learning, and is an eager supporter of Collaboration amongst colleagues, often through PLCs and co-planning**

** Teacher 5: Teaches Humanities 8, Socials 9-11. Four years teaching experience. A leader in the school in incorporating technology, including class blogs. Eager supporter of collaboration amongst colleagues. Sponsor teacher of the school's Social Responsibility Club.**

** Teacher 6: Teaches Humanities 8, Socials 9-11, History 12. Social Studies Department Head. 20+ years of teaching experience. Is a benchmark in within the department for standards of excellence.**

**Library Program:** **The library at L.A. Matheson Secondary, similar to most secondary schools, operates on a flexible schedule. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) strongly recommends a flexible schedule, and we have found it to be the best system to support staff and students at our school. Although some media specialists worry about such disadvantages as "[. . .] some students never or infrequently visit the media center" (Bishop, 2007, p.27). At our school, our T-L is an eager advocate for all the library media centre can provide for all classes in all departments. She gives workshops on technological tools, co-creates learning activities with teachers and marks the students' research skills. Moreover, as our staff has created time in the weekly schedule for PLC and collaboration every friday, all teachers are more likely to collaborate with our T-L and each other, thus ensuring all students an opportunity to use the library media centre. Furthermore, the library is the school's heart, the school's learning hub, and as such, whether students are brought down by their teachers signing up with the flexible scheduling, or on their own through social clubs, committees and individual interest, students missing out on the LMC and what is has to offer is not a concern at our school.**

**Community Analysis Final Thoughts:**

**LA Matheson is designated an Inner City School, located in a culturally and socially diverse urban area of North Surrey. It is a unique community with its own special needs and multi-axial identity. Numerous challenges and support organizations exist within the community, and the school, and the library itself are integral to supporting and enriching the community. Surrey North, the area in which the school is located, is a growing area. there have been issues with gangs, violence and crime, but the school, the community, and the government are working to expand and improve services to the area. In fact, the slogan for the municipality has changed to "Surrey, the future lives here." This pertains to the massive development in this city and the school's community over the past year, and in years to come. It is the largest and fastest growing city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. This growth and development will have a significant impact on L.A. Matheson and the community as the neighbourhood is growing and changing, and new support structures, infastructure, and businesses are taking shape in the community. It is an opportunity for the school library to be a part of this growth and to support the community and its changing needs through the library program and collection.**

**References:** **Bishop, K. (2007). The collection program in schools: Concepts, practices, and information sources. (4th ed.). westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.** **2006 Census Data for North Surrey. Retrieved Sept. 29TH, 2011, available at:** **[]** **Fraser Institute School Report Card. Retrieved Sept. 21ST, 2011, available at:** [] **Ministry of Education School Data Summary: 2002/2003-2007/2008. Retrieved Sept., 21ST, 2011, available at:** [] **Statistics Canada: 2006 Community Profiles. Retrieved, Sept. 29Th, 2011, available at:** **[]**