Assignment+2

=Community Analysis and Report=



School Analysis
Elgin Park Secondary School is located in affluent South Surrey. It is a fairly large school, and is at capacity. Luckily, we are not over capacity, which means we do not have portables. The school has one principal, two vice principals, and 65 enrolling and non-enrolling teaching staff. As of September, 2011 there was a total of 1,258 students in grades 8-12. Our school mascot is the Orca and the library proudly displays all manners of Orca related art. The school has a thriving music program, athletics, work co-ops for grade 11 students, clubs (Chess, Drama, Christian, Destination Imagination, Grad Council, Knitting, Mural, Newspaper, Outdoor, Photography, Peer Leadership Counsellors, Running, Science, Solutions Society, Student Council, Weight Room, Writing, Yearbook, amongst others).

Programs offered at Elgin Park include:
 * AAA (The Triple A Study Block is a choice for students in grades 9 through 12 who are prepared to give up an elective. This independent study block opportunity has been established for students whose outside commitments in sports of fine arts require a very rigorous training schedule at an elite level.)
 * Advanced Placement (The Advanced Placement Program gives students an opportunity to take college-level courses and exams while still in high school. We offer AP English Language & Literature, AP Calculus, and AP Studio Art.)
 * Band
 * Bases
 * Business Education
 * The Career Centre[[image:kimbleylibrary/ELGIN-PARK-WHALE_3.gif width="394" height="399" align="right"]]
 * Co-ops
 * English
 * English as a Second Language
 * Fine Arts
 * Hockey Canada Skills Academy
 * Home Economics
 * Information Technology
 * Integrated Studies (For grade 8s and 9s who take English and Social Studies together with the same teacher for the whole year. This serves as a bridge from elementary school to a full, busy high school.)
 * International Languages (French, Spanish)
 * Leadership Programs
 * Learner Support Team
 * Library Science (my favourite!)
 * Lifeskills 8
 * Mathematics
 * Peer Tutoring
 * Planning 10
 * Physical Education
 * Science
 * Social Studies
 * Technology Education

The school mission is to build meaningful connections that ensure a high level of student success and learning.

The school has two defined goals:
 * To improve achievement for all students, with a particular focus on those at-risk, by providing opportunities to make positive connections.
 * To increase students' understanding of social responsibility at Elgin Park Secondary by supporting classroom and school-wide initiatives that foster citizenship and encourage the physical, emotional and intellectual development of all.

7.5% of the students have English as their second language. 5.8% of the students are recognized as special needs. Elgin Park Secondary School is one of 18 high schools in School District #36, British Columbia's largest school district, and one of the only growing school districts in the province. In total, there are 124 schools in Surrey and White Rock.

Community Analysis
Bishop encourages Teacher-Librarians to learn about the community our students live in. Different communities need different resources, and the more we know about our neighbourhood, the better we will be able to serve our students. South Surrey is a wealthy neighbourhood bordering the nearby municipality of White Rock, and a few kilometers north of the border with the United States. Projected enrollment is decreasing as housing costs prevent young families from moving to the area. The residents are aging, and South Surrey has the highest percentage of population over the age of 60 in all of Surrey's neighbourhoods. The declining numbers of young families will have a long-term affect on enrollment at the local elementary schools, as well as Elgin Park Secondary. The average income of parents is $120,800. media type="custom" key="18973844"

The Statistics Canada Census Profile provides the following information for the neighbouring areas of South Surrey, White Rock and Cloverdale (information was not available on solely the neighbourhood of South Surrey), and offers the same information for the province of British Columbia to serve as comparison.
 * **Population and Dwelling Counts** || **South Surrey - White Rock - Cloverdale** || **British Columbia** ||
 * Population in 2011 || 127,729 || 4,400,057 ||
 * Population in 2006 || 111,756 || 4,113,487 ||
 * 2006 to 2011 population change (%) || 14.3 || 7.0 ||
 * Total private dwellings || 52,654 || 1,945,365 ||
 * Private dwellings occupied by usual residents || 50,102 || 1,764,637 ||
 * Population density per square kilometre || 853.3 || 4.8 ||
 * Land area (square km) || 149.69 || 922,509.29 ||

=
This Census Profile tells us that the population of these areas is increasing at double the rate of the provincial average. This is doubtlessly affected by the influence of Cloverdale's inclusion - this is a neighbourhood that has seen an exponential increase in population in past years. If census information were available for the area of South Surrey exclusively, there would not be the same increase of population.======

The statistics about the City of Surrey itself are quite interesting. One third of the city is agricultural land, and it is the home of the RCMP's largest detachment, the province's busiest hospital (Surrey Memorial) and the largest school district.

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Potential Partnerships/Community Resources
It is important to look outside the boundaries of the school when considering learning resources. I have found a number resources that are a good fit with the Prescribed Learning Outcomes for Social Studies 10.

The **IMAX theater** in Victoria is currently playing "The Rocky Mountain Express" which is a perfect match with the curriculum of Social Studies 10 regarding the founding of Canada as a nation and the construction of the trans-Canada railway. Once released on DVD, this film would be an excellent addition to any high school library, relates to C2 in the Social Studies 10 IRP to "analyse political, economic, social, and geographical factors that led to Confederation and to the development of Canada’s provinces and territories."

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The **City of Surrey Museum** currently has an exhibit on the Titanic, which relates to B3 in the Social Studies 10 IRP to "evaluate the influence of immigration on Canadian society from 1815 to 1914". It is not far from school and would be an easy day trip, or half-day trip including lunchtime.

The **School District #36 Aboriginal Resource Centre** has books available with First Nations content that can be loaned to schools. They may have a set of books that also relate to the curriculum of the class. Depending on the content of the novels, any number of the Prescribed Learning Outcomes could be met.




 * Fort Langley** is quite close to Surrey, and would make a great field trip. I looked at their website and found that they have School Programs that are suitable for the grade level. One of particular interest to me is "Fur Traders and Other Immigrants." This relates to B1 in the Social Studies 10 IRP to "analyse Canadian society from 1815 to 1914 in terms of gender roles, ethnicity, daily life, and the arts" and B2 to "evaluate the impact of interactions between Aboriginal peoples and European explorers and settlers in Canada from 1815 to 1914."

As a very new librarian, and a fan of collaborative work, I would also use **my fellow Teacher-Librarians**as a resource. Last week I attended the year-end party and there were nearly 50 of us in the room. There are 19 high schools in my district, and that means I have 18 colleagues to seek advice from, as well as our district helping teacher for Teacher-Librarians, Sarah Guilmant-Smith.

Social Studies 10 and Library Background
Social Studies 10 is a mandatory class for all British Columbia students in order to meet provincial Graduation Program requirements. According to the Integrated Resource Package for this class: "The Social Studies 10 curriculum provides students with opportunities to critically reflect upon events and issues in order to examine the past and make connections. Through their participation in social studies, students are encouraged to: The study of social studies contributes to the important goal of preparing students for their lives as Canadian citizens and members of the international community."
 * develop an appreciation of democracy and what it means to be Canadian
 * demonstrate respect for human equality and cultural diversity
 * think critically, evaluate information, and practise effective communication

Social Studies 10 is an important class because its curriculum content and skill development lay the foundation for the students next year when they take Social Studies 11, a provincially examinable course. There are four teachers on staff who are teaching this class this semester (I only joined the school as Teacher-Librarian mid-February). One of these teachers has been teaching in Canada for three years, (longer in his native Ireland), two have been teaching for seven years, and one is a seasoned 'Master Teacher' and department head.

This semester the Social Studies 10 classes have been brought to the library for research assignments using the internet and books, and they have also had carts of books brought to their rooms. In late May I chaperoned a group of three Social Studies 10 classes on a day trip to Victoria to learn more about BC's history. Teachers have also been signing out videos and DVDs relating to the curriculum. I have noticed that they are preferring DVDs to videos, and I would like to look into these resources a bit more as we proceed with the course.

We also have a separate collection of grade-specific historical fiction novels. There are multiple copies of each title, allowing teachers to run a lit circle style historical novel study. At least three of the four Social Studies 10 teachers have come in for novel selection from these collections. Some students are writing book reports on these novels as well.

My school library works on a flexible schedule which allows classes to come in as often as openings in the schedule allow. I have uploaded a screenshot of my current June library bookings (see below). I would like to see more classes booked in for end-of-year projects. I've looked back at my records and noticed one of the Social Studies 10 teachers has not come to the library at all this semester. Students are also able to use the library resources before school, at lunch and after school. Grade 11 and 12 students with study blocks are encouraged to visit the library when they are not in class.

The library also serves the school as the only bookable computer lab. There is a class set of 30 computers in the library and they are often booked by teachers to be used in conjunction with books for project research. Student have access to printing (black and white at $0.10 a page, colour at $0.25 a page), photocopying ($0.10 a page), digital video cameras, and our newest addition, three iPads courtesy of PAC funds. These iPads can be signed out by any student, and are for use in the library only. I've downloaded a number of educational apps and seek feedback from students and staff regarding them. There is a conference room in the library which has been devoted to online learners (a new duty of the Teacher-Librarian at our school). I have three blocks of up to ten students who I assist with course registration, supervise, collect tests from their online teachers, and distribute/collect textbooks and fees. The fourth block is my prep.

I am assigned four Library Science students - three in Period One and one in Period Four. Their duties are to check in books, shelve books in their section (the library is split into four roughly equal sections), sign books out to other students/staff, maintain displays, and complete their coursework. The previous TL put all of her assignments online in a class Wiki and the student access and submit their work there. All coursework is to be completed by June 15th, but if I teach the class again I will implement due dates to keep the students from self-sabotaging with procrastination.

Other Relevant Data
In Chapter Four Bishop provides us with some good sample Staff and Student Surveys. I think these would be of benefit to learn what the teachers know about the library's resources, and what they would like added. Surveys would give some quantifiable data, but quick conversations over the lunch table could also do the trick. It is important to work with the teachers to build a set of resources that is relevant, useful and interesting for both teachers and students.