Grandson of namesake receives Ingrassia-Confer dictionary at Bloom School news conference

From press release

Family members of the late Sara Ingrassia and Jackie Confer participated in a special news conference at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Bloom Elementary School, 2912 Brendenwood Road. They also handed out to third-graders free color dictionaries presented in honor of the former Rockford School Board members.

Volunteers distribute the Scott-Foresman dictionaries to third-graders in all of Rockford’s public elementary schools on what has come to be known as Dictionary Day. Among this year’s recipients is Payton Confer, Jackie Confer’s granddaughter, who is a third-grader at Bloom.

Confer and other former School Board members started what was originally the Sara Ingrassia Dictionary Fund as a way to honor Ingrassia after her death.

Tuesday marked the 13th annual dictionary presentation.

When Confer died in 2003, her name was added to the nonprofit campaign to purchase the dictionaries with private funds. The dictionaries are the students’ to keep when they complete third grade.

Superintendent LaVonne M. Sheffield gave a speech during the news conference and helped give out the dictionaries to students.

Visit www.dictionaryfund.org to make a financial contribution or learn more about the program.