show up (usually without the kids), and the teacher gives a presentation of the coursework over the year, while the parents sit and listen, then ask questions.

It's more formal than Open House in the spring, which is more social, where the students' work is on display, and people stand around and chat in small groups. You're right in that Open House is more of a social occasion, where the kids attend with the parents.

At Back to School Night in September, I always provided a handout syllabus on paper, plus a written link to the website for my class, plus my teacher's email address at school.

I told the parents, " I have a classroom set of all the novels we are going to read this year as a class. If you request it, I will check out a novel to you before we read it in class, so that you will know what your child is reading. I don't want anyone to be surprised or shocked, because I'm a parent also. I would like to know what my own son is reading. So, I'm happy to accommodate you if you wish to read the novels first."

I worked in an upscale, Republican community with lots of evangelicals who always seemed to have the suspicion that the schools were teaching loose morals, or something subversive, in order to convert them to being Democrats, LOL. So I went out of my way to let parents know that their feedback was welcome.

Here's the thing -- out of 165 students each year, the most number of parents who objected to a novel any one year was: 2. They objected to Catcher in the Rye because Holden Caulfied ran away from school, then met up with a prostitute in New York City. :-)
So those students read an alternate novel. They didn't just sit around and scroll through their phones or doodle aimlessly, or pass notes around.

When parents are front-loaded like this, the parents are defused from going to the principal, or the superintendent, or the school board to complain about some unknown conspiracy. My motto is: Let the parents know in advance what is going to happen, then they stop worrying, calling, or emailing all the time. ( No one ever complained about me, thank goodness). --- B4E