Community Analysis Report

                                                     Community Analysis Report

Intro:

I began working at Ecole Beaumont* in September 2021 as the Teacher-Librarian (TL). The school community is located in a neighbourhood adjacent to where I live. Although I had a passing knowledge of the community, I am slowly appreciating the nuances of this historically-rich part of Winnipeg. Every day I gain a deeper understanding of the student population and the community composition.  Below is a summary of the findings of this Community Analysis Report and how it pertains to the school library and the specific grade 2 unit entitled: Our Local Community.

 

School and Community Data:

Ecole Beaumont resides in a 116 year-old, 3 story building and is located in the residential area of St.Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba. It currently has 261 students from Kindergarten to grade 3 and will soon expand to include grade 4 students during the 2022/2023 school year. The school yard is on the smaller side, but was recently renovated through community sponsorship and fundraising efforts. The school is surrounded by elms which shade its stone exterior and match its three-story height. To look at the building is to see history of the community embodied. Nearly every French speaker from St.Boniface has connections and memories of the school and some families have sent multiple generations through its doorways on their educational journeys.

The school is located in St.Boniface, Manitoba and is within walking distance from the Red River, the Assiniboine River, the Seine river and many community attractions, parks and services. The school’s walkability score is 73 and transit score is 51 according to the website Walk Score and I can vouch for the active transportation corridors as I use them daily when biking to work.  Looking north from the library window, you can see that the school is surrounded by residential buildings and is kitty-corner to a French high school. Bakeries, an arena, a park, a university and a restaurant can be found all within a two block radius of the school. Most students take the school bus to school or their parents drop them off by car on the west and east sides of the school. 

The school has housed many grades, programs and community groups over the years (including a firing range in the basement for reservists during WWII), but it currently offers an elementary Kindergarten to grade 3 French-Immersion program. The school building also shares space with two separate daycares and an early-childhood family center. Due to the presence of these programs in our school, it is common to see parents and children aged 0-8 within out hallways, their joyful voices adding  s  to the overall culture of the school. 

The school is comprised of 18 teaching members,  6 Educational Assistants, 3 custodial staff,  2 secretarial staff and 2 administrators. All teachers have a Bachelor of Education, 4 have post-bacs or graduate degrees and all are bilingual (except for the teacher from France who speaks solely French). Many of the teachers are near the middle or end of their teaching careers. I have noticed an overall hesitancy, from teachers at Ecole Beaumont, to incorporate technology in the classroom, especially when it comes to iPads or laptops where students have agency over the device. 

I cannot speak to the normal extracurricular activities which take place within the school as COVID has severely impacted these programs and it is only my first year; however, I understand that it is the school’s tradition to celebrate the Franco-Manitobain culture every February with their own Festival activities. They also partner with the neighbourhood arena, located a block away, to  run a learn-to-skate program for students during the winter months. There has also been a special emphasis on the Indigenous 7 Teachings within the division and each class of Ecole Beaumont is learning about one of the teachings per month and choosing one month to prepare artwork for the display case. 

According to Stats Canada, Ecole Beaumont is located in an area where most live in single-detached houses. The second most popular housing is semi-detached or side-by-side housing and the third most popular is apartment. One third of the community members rent while two-thirds owns their living accommodations. Most families in our community speak English or a combination of French and English, while only a small portion speak solely French in their households. In fact  1/7^th of the community speaks French at home as a first language and 1/14^th state that French is the  predominant language currently spoken in their home. The median income for households in the community is           $70 857.00.

This information must be taken with a grain of salt however for two reasons. First, the school is a French Immersion school and has a much larger catchment than its immediate community but substantially less than the closest data set captured in the Stats Canada district. Also, backgrounds of school families differ substantially which can sometimes be hidden in talk of averages. Some children come from across the railroad tracks near the industrial area, where there are often lower incomes, more apartments and government sponsored housing; but, other children from the far corner of our catchment area come from newly-built homes in newer sub-divisions where the socio-economic status is much higher. Another fact of interest was shared just shared with staff this September. Apparently, out of all the schools in the division, Ecole Beaumont has the most diverse student population.

Library Data: 

Ecole Beaumont library was moved from the basement to the third floor four years ago. Due to the limitations of renovating a very old building, the school division was unable to provide a double-class-sized space for the library. The solution was therefore to use a secondary space kitty-corner to the library and designate it as the Salle d’Exploration (Exploration Room). This space functions as a teaching space for the TL and will serve as an overflow for the library collection when the grade four students join us next school year and we will require more space for the added books. This two-part library is a unique arrangement in the division but has allowed the TL to develop a Maker Space which is heavily influenced by Reggio Emilia and feature hands-on artifacts aimed at inspiring inquiry-based learning. Since I work part-time, this space can also be booked by teachers in the school for use with their students. The Salle d’Exploration houses the school's one iPad cart, 2 document cameras and teacher resources which can all be borrowed through the library or booked on line for teacher use.

Video of Salle d'Exploration

The library schedule for book exchange with the Library Technician is fixed but the time spent with the TL is arranged on a flexible schedule. Often, the TL will approach teachers with an activity and those interested will sign up to collaboratively teach the theme to the students. This arrangement works well for the Library Technician and myself and I have received positive feedback from the staff as well, however, I do agree with Mardis when she identifies the following as a challenge when using a flexible model: “The librarian my feel as if there is not time to take care of other management responsibilities, such as ordering or cataloging, when there are students and teachers constantly using the library resources and needing assistance” (2016, p. 41). I have tried to resolve this by scheduling in time in my schedule for me to complete library tasks.

I cannot speak to how students and staff used the collection before COVID, but since my arrival at Ecole Beaumont, the students use the collection to learn about topics of interest, practice reading and develop their love of books. The library collection is formed of books suitable for K-3 students and is comprised of French and English books in fiction, non-fiction, beginner novels and magazines. The space has shelving located on the periphery of the library space with movable seating throughout. Popular series or oversized books are featured in accessible baskets for students to find with ease. The 2014 Leading Learning document defines the Learning Commons as: “The physical and virtual collaborative learning hub of the school community, designed to engineer and lead learning for the future, a transformational shift from traditional library to a whole school learning culture where everyone is working together to enhance learning, and to continually improve thinking, questioning, analyzing and creating (p. 27)”.  I  am proud to say the Ecole Beaumont’s dual library rooms both embody the library as Learning Commons.

Video of the Library

Grade, Subject and Curriculum Documents:

For the purpose of this report I will be examining the Grade 2 Social Studies Unit, Our Local Community. This topic was chosen because there are six grade 2/3 classes within the school and, although they rotate between the grade 2 and 3 social studies curriculum, they informed me in September that this year they would be focusing on this grade 2 unit in the spring. In order to best support their study of this topic, it is important for me to become better acquainted with the school’s community.

The major units of study for the topic of “Our Local Community” can be found at the following government links :

Our Local Community at A Glance

Our Local Community SLOs

They include the following sub-themes: 

-       Characteristics of communities (KI-004, KI-005, KL-018)

-       Natural Resources (KL-016, KL-017)

-       Stories of the past (KH-025, VH-008)

-       Culture and Heritage (KI-006, KI-010)

-       Personal identity (KI-007, KI-008, KI-009, VI-005)

-       Contributing to our communities (KC-001, VC-001, VC-002)

-       Leadership (KP-033, KP-034, VP-011)

-       Remembrance Day (KC-003, KP-035, VP-012)

Identify potential partners and resources:

Ecole Beaumont is centrally located in St.Boniface, Winnipeg and the community draws much pride from its history. Many buildings, historical societies and traditions have been preserved and thrive to this day. The majority of the  places, businesses and people can be found within a reasonable walking distance for grade 2 students. Please see below a list of potential community partners which can all be accessed by a short walk from the school.

-       Matt Allard (City Councillor)

-       Dan Vandal (MP)

-       Dougal Lamont (MLA)

-       Librairie A la Page (Bookstore)

-       St.Boniface Public Library (Library)

-       Cercle Molière (French theatre)

-       Radio Canada Manitoba (French Radio Station)

-       St.Boniface Cathedral (Location of Louis Riel’s (founder of Manitoba) gravestone)

-       L’université de Saint-Boniface (French university)

-       Maison Gabrielle Roy House (Famous local writer)

-       La Belle Baguette (Bakery)

-       Festival (Celebration of French culture and history of the voyageurs)

-       New Bothwell Cheese (Cheese store)

-       Chocolatier Constance Popp (Chocolate Shop)

-       Bijou (Local jeweller)

-       Resto Gare (Restaurant)

-       Stella’s (Restaurant)

-       Promenade Café (Restaurant)

-       The club d’escalade de Saint-Boniface (CFSB) (Ice Climbing Tower)

-       La Caisse (French bank)

-       La Liberté (French newspaper)

-       Acceuil Francophone (Supports for French-speaking immigrants and refugees) 

-       Pluri-elles (Supports for French-speaking women)

-       Chaise (Restaurant)

-       Notre Dame Community Center (Pool, Tennis courts, Basket ball courts, Arena, Bocce Ball, Baseball diamonds, Splash Pad and Playground) 

-       Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain (Cultural center which includes space for community programs, clubs, a restaurant, art gallery and a theatre)

-       Whitier park

-       Lagimodière-Gaboury Park

-       Parc Provencher Park

-       Parc Elzéar Goulet

-   Centre de la petite enfance et de la famille (Center to support french speaking families with young children)

-    St.Boniface Hospital (Local hospital)

-       Café Postale (Coffee shop located in a historical site)

-       Fort Gibraltar (Historical site)

-       Old St. Boniface City Hall (Historical site)

-       Maison des artistes visuels francophones  (Artist collective located in a historical building)

-       St.Boniface Museum (Local community museum)

-       Ici Radio-Canada Télé (French TV station)

-       Envol (French radio station)

-       LaVérendrye Bowling Lanes (Bowling lanes)

Located across the river (20 min walk away from the school):

-       The Forks (Historical site and location of many outdoor activities, restaurants, coffee shops and stores)

-       Canadian Museum for Human Rights (Museum)

-       Children’s Museum (Museum)

-       Manitoba Theatre for Young People  (Theatre)

 -       Promenade Taché Bridge  (Architectural landmark)

Conclusion:

I have been very happy working at Ecole Beaumont since September and I feel grateful for the numerous community groups, businesses, media outlets, historical sites, green spaces, civic services and government officials which are so accessible to the students. A simple permission slip, a peaceful walk on a beautiful day and this Grade 2 unit can come alive with lived connection. I look forward to developing meaningful, ongoing relationships with local community groups as I invite them yearly to share about what it means to live in St. Boniface, Winnipeg. 

*Please note that, for the purposes of this paper and to preserve the anonymity of the students as per divisional policy, I will use the pseudonym Ecole Beaumont. 

 

 

References:

 

 

Canadian Library Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Retrieved on January 26, 2022 from https://apsds.org/wp-content/uploads/Standards-of-Practice-for-SchoolLibrary-Learning-Commons-in-Canada-2014.pdf

Government of Manitoba. (2005). Grade 2 Social Studies at a glance. Retrieved on January 26, 2022 from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/essentials/docs/gr2ss.pdf

Government of Manitoba. (2005). Cluster 1 Our Local Community. Retrieved on January 26, 2022 from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr2/cluster1.pdf

Mardis, Marcia A. (2016). The collection program in schools: Concepts and Practices. (6th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Statistics Canada. (2016). Census Profile: Saint-Boniface—Saint Vital. Retrieved on January 26, 2022 from  https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=FED&Code1=46009&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Saint-Boniface&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0)