Waverly to Institute "Intervisitation" for Literacy Instruction

Next month, teachers at the Waverly School will officially launch a new initiative that aims to empower educators through collaboration. Through “Intervisitation”—which will see K-1 teachers open their classrooms to their peers—Waverly staffers are aiming to enhance the delivery of literacy instruction for the district’s youngest learners. 

According to Waverly Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach Chrissy Conrad, “Intervisitation” will allow K-1 faculty to observe their colleague’s lessons, giving educators a first-hand look at some of the instructional methods employed by their peers in order to glean new ideas about how best to ensure effective communication of ideas to students. 

“’Intervisitation’ is something I have always wanted to implement here because I thought it was a very powerful tool for teachers,” said Conrad. “This will allow our teachers to share the various ways they deliver the instruction to our students, and how they engage with different students in order to enhance what’s already in place in the curriculum.”

Since December, Conrad has been working with Waverly faculty members to prepare them for the launch of “Intervisitation,” illustrating how ongoing communication between colleagues can be used to encourage staff members to grow as educators, specifically as it pertains to the “Five Pillars of Literacy”—Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension—and will continue as students move on to more advanced writing units that draw from each of those specific areas.

Conrad believes that this new initiative serves as an invaluable, organic way for teachers to observe a variety of strategies their colleagues are employing in the classroom in order to determine which methods may be useful with their own students. At the beginning of the school year, Conrad met with educators to determine how they felt about their own professional strengths and weaknesses, and saw “Intervisitation” as a natural way to help them address areas they believe can be better explored.

“There are a lot of ways to do professional development, including meetings and webinars, but I think the best way for teachers to learn is from one another,” said Conrad.

Dr. Susan Chester, Eastchester’s K-12 Supervisor of Humanities, concurred, noting that there are not many districts who implement “Intervisitation” despite the obvious benefits that educators—and students—can take away from the experience. 

“As powerful as ‘Intervisitation’ is, it’s also very rare,” said Chester. “The fact that Waverly teachers are embracing this says a lot about the trust they have in each other, the trust that they have in Chrissy Conrad who put this together, and their desire to grow beyond the standardized, formal observation process with an administrator.”

Waverly Principal Caitlin Mondelli added that both teachers and students will ultimately benefit from this initiative. 

“We’re moving away from working in silos and opening our doors like this—in a non-judgmental way—is a step in the right direction,” said Mondelli. “I believe that the answer is always in the room and we have such a talented team of teachers within Waverly, so the more we are able to collaborate and share best instructional practices; it’s going to have a direct positive impact for our students.”

“Intervisitation” will officially begin in Waverly classrooms on Feb. 4, and Conrad hopes that positive results will inspire teachers in a wide array of subject areas across the district.

“I think a next step in this process could be to have teachers engage in vertical intervisitation, where they visit across grade levels,” she said. “This has been a request from the teachers here at Waverly during our work together. It would be a great way to broaden their understanding of teaching and learning across grades levels as they gain insight into how students develop over time.”