Letter to Admin and Counselors about the change

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to make sure you were informed on some changes that will be taking place in my classroom next semester that will affect the students you will be seeing from my class. (Which will hopefully be a lot less than last semester!)

After struggling last semester with a lot of students not completing homework, I began thinking of what I could do differently to help support them at home. After much research and trial during 1st semester, I have adopted a flipped classroom approach that I will be keeping in place for the 2nd semester. My goal is that we see a huge decrease in the number of students receiving homework cards because their homework will now entail (1) watching a video lesson created by me, (2) writing a summary and question, and (3) coming prepared to discuss, ask questions, get help, and work on the problems that formerly would have been "homework" in class where there is support available. I found that a lot of my students would not do homework because they would go home and have no idea how to start even though they thought they understood it in class.

If you would take a minute to read through the letter I have put together so you are informed of what is going on and the purposes of utilizing this teaching method, that would be great. The end of the letter indicates how this method will integrate with the homework card system we have in place at school. ("FLIPPED CLASSROOM LETTER updated"). If you would like any more information or details on the Flipped Classroom, please ask as I have a plethora of resources (blogs, articles, videos, etc) that I have collected during my research period.

A letter has already been sent home to all of my Algebra 1 students and has been returned signed by their parent/guardian indicating their access to technology at home (all but a few have computer and internet access at home). Accommodations have been made for all students without full access to technology. The shortened version of that letter is also attached. (this is the one just titled "FLIPPED CLASSROOM LETTER" and does not include as many details).

Thank you for your support - I really appreciate all that you do! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the new method that will be used next semester. I am excited to see positive changes by the end of the semester that will inform me if I should continue using this method of teaching.

Thanks,