I had previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation-sponsored White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement, and it was held today.

I’d be interested in hearing a report from anyone who attended.

Here’s the information I have about it so far:

White House symposium focuses on family engagement appeared in The Washington Post, but says surprisingly little about what actually happened at the event.

The Kellogg Foundation put-out a press release this morning about the event. The most interesting info in it is a summary about a poll they had taken of parents. Here are some results:

The event also dovetails with the release of a recent public opinion poll, commissioned by the Kellogg Foundation*, of 1,000 parents nationwide, which found that 96 percent of parents believe they play a role in ensuring their child has a quality education, but that teachers (73 percent), principals (58 percent) and local officials (46 percent) also have meaningful roles. Among other findings:

U.S. parents believe that involvement in their child’s education is most critical between birth and pre-school (42 percent). That percentage increases among African American and Hispanic parents to 51 and 47 percent, respectively.

Ten percent of all parents, rising to 18 percent of Hispanic parents, say they are actively involved in their children’s education, but do not feel welcome to participate. However, the majority of parents (82 percent) do say they are actively involved and feel welcome.

Forty-six percent of U.S. parents report that lack of time is an obstacle that may prevent them from fully engaging in their child’s education. Nearly 1 in 5 reports that a lack of understanding of what their child is learning also serves as a significant barrier facing diverse and low-income families.

Apparently, they invited one of the co-authors of the very unhelpful book, Broken Compass, to speak (see The Best Commentaries On The “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement Book). I hope they had other people there to set the record straight.