JEANNINE INGRASSIA
Mrs. Ingrassia started working for the Redondo Beach Unified School District in 1989, but she has only been a classroom teacher since 1994.
She was born in New York, but moved to Redondo Beach in 1979 and finished her 4th grade year at Tulita Elementary. At first, Mrs. Ingrassia was not happy that her family relocated to California, but now she cannot imagine her life otherwise. Mrs. Ingrassia is an RUHS alumni. She went to El Camino College and then California State University Dominguez Hills.
Mrs. Ingrassia got her first job when she was only 10 years old, riding her Schwinn Strand Cruiser and delivering Daily Breeze newspapers to houses on Avenue F and Avenue G. Then, she worked at the Redondo Beach Fun Factory Arcade on Redondo International Boardwalk at the age of 13.
Her favorite band is Pennywise. The band holds a special place in her heart because they are local to South Bay and she grew up with their music.
Mrs. Ingrassia's favorite place to travel is New York where more than half of her family still reside. Another favorite destination is the Caribbean, especially Jamaica. One item on Mrs. Ingrassia's bucket list is to go to Italy to see her ancestral land from both sets of grandparents.
Mrs. Ingrassia has been rooting for the NY Yankees ever since she was a little girl. She loves to read travel books and music biographies. Her favorite movies are "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Pretty in Pink" because they are 1980’s classics with awesome New Wave music soundtracks.
If she were to win the lottery, Mrs. Ingrassia would pay off her house and then buy a vacation/retirement home in the Bahamas.
Her biggest pet peeve? Mean-hearted people.
While Mrs. Ingrassia is an outgoing person, one thing people may not know about her is that she still needs and appreciates quiet, peaceful, down time in order to recharge.
If she could choose her age forever, Mrs. Ingrassia would pick her early twenties when her independent life was just starting out, but things were a lot less complicated.
Her favorite super power? Definitely teleportation as that would allow her to travel to faraway places like NY or tropical islands in the blink of an eye.
If she had to choose a title for her autobiographic book, Mrs. Ingrassia would name it "Live for Today. Don’t Put Off Having Fun!"
A skill that Mrs. Ingrassia would love to learn is how to wire wrap semi-precious stones and make beautiful jewelry with unique beads.
Asked to name an experience that made her a stronger person, Mrs. Ingrassia mentioned the "adventure" of losing her US passport in Cozumel, Mexico. It took her many days of complicated paperwork and a long road trip to the US Consulate in order to obtain an emergency passport so she could return back home to the US.
A chore she absolutely hates doing? Putting away her clothes.
If she could meet anyone, living or dead, Mrs. Ingrassia would pick Bob Marley and his very talented children.
For kids who are struggling in school, Mrs. Ingrassia's advice is to keep trying and never give up: "Celebrate each success, and be proud of your individuality and strengths. Everybody has a strength; you just got to find it and let it shine!".
For Mrs. Ingrassia, success is when you wake up each day, sunny side up, happy to be alive!
