Since I decided to do my flip a month and a half into the school year, I figured I wanted to let my parents know what was going on. I sent them home a letter explaining how homework would look, how class time would be spent and what they could do to help their child. At the end of the letter I had parents and students sign letting me know that they understood the changes that would be taking place in my class.
I got a lot of positive feedback! Some of my student's older siblings had been in my friend's flipped class in high school, so the parents were familiar with and enjoyed this approach. I had another couple of parents tell me this was a "neat idea", something they were "really excited for" and a great way to encourage students "to really understand the topics". I was so excited and grateful to have parents that are supportive, encouraging and willing to let me flip the normal classroom around.
One of my biggest fears in implementing this method of teaching was meeting resistance from parents, students or the norms of education. So far I have found none of this. I think coming to the situation prepared, knowledgable and confident went a long way in assuring people I knew what I was doing. I had one parent that wanted more of an explanation than my letter gave, but I feel that after our phone conversation, they were satisfied with my reasons for flipping.
Here is the letter I complied. I found some resources online explaining the flipped classroom and borrowed ideas from other parent letters I found as well. Feel free to use or modify to fit your classroom!
Parent Letter
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