Assignment 2: LIBE 463 Community Analysis

Introduction

Because I was unable to access the library in the school where I teach at, for this assignment I have chosen to do an analysis of another library in my school district. The school library that I examined is located at Frost Road Elementary School in Surrey, BC. I will be working on the library’s collection as it relates to the grade 1/2 Social Studies curriculum. The topic I will be focusing on within the social studies curriculum will be recycling and the protection of the environment.

Where is Frost Road Elementary?

View Larger Map

Frost Road Elementary is located in the Fleetwood area of Surrey, BC, at 8606 162 Street. It is located in the middle of a community that has seen recent rapid growth. According to the 2009 census the population in 2009 was 50, 284.  It is located near the Fraser Highway and is close to many amenities. There are numerous condo developments nearby as well as many single family homes. Wikipedia offers this description of the community: “Rapid population growth beginning in the 1970s brought with it retail, commercial and multi-family residential developments. Residents turned down attempts to develop light industrial properties. A branch of the Surrey Public Library, the Fleetwood Library, serves the local neighbourhood. The Fleetwood Community Center and the adjacent walking park, Francis Park, serves the whole Fleetwood area and beyond. The Surrey Sports and Leisure Center is managed by the manager of the Fleetwood Community Center. The area around the Fleetwood Library, the Surrey Sports and Leisure Center and the Fleetwood Community Center is becoming very age-friendly for seniors. The next amenity to be developed by the City of Surrey is a pedestrian activated traffic light at the intersection of 160th Street and 83rd Avenue.”



View Larger Map

The Students and the School

The students in this school have the opportunity to be immersed in French learning starting in grade 6. The population that I will be targeting for this assignment will be in the primary grades and so I will not need to consider materials which have a French component to them. From looking at the BC FSA information from 2009, I noticed that the school’s ESL population was 36%. However, after speaking with the principal, the ESL population is now at 77%. This is tells me that the population is growing and changing fast.  According to the School’s Website I noticed that it stated that there are 522 students enrolled in the school. However the Principal stated that it has actually grown since that number was put up and enrolment has increased to 570. The population has actually more than doubled in the last 5 years. The cultural background of the population is diverse and fourteen different languages are spoken in the school which include: English, Punjabi, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Philipino, and Arabic. There is not one predominant culture in the school and these cultures are quite equally mixed. There is a small aboriginal population in the school consisting of 14 students who are doing well academically for the most part. The population is not a transient one. The addition of high density housing has changed the socioeconomic area. The average income has gone down in the last five years. Based on the census Fleetwood is average for income in comparison to other neighbourhoods. There are 16 academic IEPs, 23 low incidence designations, and 26 behavioural IEPs. 

BC FSA

Frost Road Elementary School                   Gr 4 Enrollment: 55                                     

ESL (%): 36.2                             Special needs (%): 8.2                French Imm (%): 0.0

Actual rating vs predicted based                                                   2008-09     Last 5 Years

on parents’ avg. inc. of $65,200: 1.7                              Rank: 146/876            161/795

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Academic Performance              2005         2006        2007         2008        2009         Trend

Gr 4 avg score:          Reading     -0.08         0.33          -0.11         478           506           —

Writing      559           541           575           537           525           —

Numeracy  0.46         0.35          0.32          487           505           q

Gr 7 avg score:          Reading    0.08         0.21          0.00          481           554           —

Writing      529           525           578           583           641           —

Numeracy  0.39         0.17          0.43          519          558           —

Gr 7 gender gap:         Reading     F 0.16      F 0.28       M 0.09     F 33         M 23         —

Numeracy  M 0.11     M 0.12      M 0.16      F 36          M 39         q

Below expectations (%)                               8.6            12.6          12.2          15.6          7.8            —

Tests not written (%)                   n/a           1.7            0.7            5.6            8.7            n/a

Overall rating out of 10             7.7            7.6            8.3            6.3            7.7            —

The Community

The Surrey Public Library, Fleetwood Community Centre, and the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex are located within walking distance. There are numerous businesses located within a few minutes walking distance from the school. An example of these businesses are: IGA Marketplace, The Medicine Shoppe, a medical clinic, A&W, Boston Pizza, Wendy’s, Taco Del  Mar, Pizza Hut, Esquires coffee shop, Tim Horton’s, Yoko Sushi, Two EE’s Farmers Market. Located a short drive away is a Safeway, Pharmasave, Guildford Mall, and Famous Players Surrey. In addition there are three different golf courses located a short drive away as well. I noticed from perusing the past year’s PAC Newsletters that the school has also received support from the following nearby businesses: Guildford Orthodontic Center, RE/Max, Smiles Gloss Hair Salon, and The Great Escape.

This information is useful in a number of ways:

-           Because the population is growing rapidly and the demographics are changing I would expect to find that the collection might be in a state of revision change in order to make the materials more meaningful to the changing student body.

-           I would also expect to find more materials in the collection that are being targeted for ESL learners since the ESL population is now so high. If not, I can identify this as an area of need for the library.

-          Because there is a French component to the school but it is for grade six students, I should not expect to find any materials at the grade 1/2 level that are in French.

-          Because the ethnicity of the student population is so diverse I would expect to find materials that reflect diverse cultures. If the collection does not reflect this I can identify this as a need in the library.

Partners Within the School and Community

I noticed that from reading the PAC newsletters on the School website that they are strong supporters of the library and literacy development in the school. The PAC Newsletter states that they have contributed enriching opportunities in the following ways: 30 new laptops, country fair, hip hop and one woman circus, author reading and library books, emergency kits in the classroom, how to get better grades in school workshop by Terry Small. The laptops, author reading, library books and the workshop by Terry Small all indicate to me that they are interested in supporting endeavours which will improve student learning. From speaking to a teacher in the school, I have found that my assumption is correct – they have established a strong and positive relationship with the TL and are very supportive of activities happening in the library. Evidence of this is that they promote and advertise events happening in the library in their newsletter to the parents, such as the reading clubs and the Surrey Public Library reading programs. The PAC has gotten sponsors for their fair from the following local business partners: Guildford Orthodics Centre, Re/Max Treeland Realty, Salon Gloss, The Great Escape, Save on Foods, Fraser Smiles Dental Clinic, Starbucks, Fin’tastic’s Cuts for Kids, Jeff Clarke and Elite Soccer Programs, Tim Horton’s, Splitz Gymnastics, Fitness World, Wong’s Greenhouses, De Dutch Pancake House, G&F Financial, Surrey Public Library, and Coast Capital Savings. Some of the partners I would want to pursue in the community would be the Surrey Public Library, The Fleetwood Community Centre, and Green Timbers National Park. It would also be interesting to set up partnerships with several of the different businesses in the area to learn about their environmentally friendly practices.

Having this good partnership with the PAC group is an especially wonderful thing as it has the potential to reach the larger parent body. Also they have already built relationships with many businesses which might make it easier for the TL to partner with them as well.  

There are 29 teachers in the school to form partnerships with as well as a Principal and Vice Principal. There are also 14 full time SEA’s (Special Education Assistants), one Child Care Worker, and one Aboriginal worker in the school as well whom I would want to develop partnerships with. I noticed that the TL has set up a good website to help connect with the partners of her community.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statistics Canada. 2007. Surrey, British Columbia (Code5915004) (table). 2006 Community Profiles. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-591-XWE. Ottawa. Released March 13, 2007.
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E
(accessed July 8, 2011).