SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D- San Francisco)  presented the Woman of the Year award for the 12th Assembly District to Beverly Kong on Mar. 16.  Kong, the current Principal of Lawton Alternative School, has a career in education that spans thirty-six years in teaching and administrative roles in Bay Area Schools.

A trailblazer in the community, Kong’s achievements include: participating in school reform initiatives including the Coalition of Essential Schools-Brown University, Annenberg Institute for School Reform-National Reform Faculty, and Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, serving at the California Academy of Sciences on the Advisory Board of the recently formed “Teacher Institute of Science and Sustainability,” and initiating the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP). CAPP forged a partnership between the “Step to College Program” at the San Francisco State University and Daly City’s Jefferson Union High.

“Beverly performs one of the most honorable professions in our community,” said Assemblywoman Ma. “Her passion for education and commitment to students and teachers alike serves as an example to all Californians.”

A life-long San Franciscan, Kong is a graduate of the San Francisco Public School System. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley. A teaching credential followed from the University of San Francisco. She also attended San Francisco State University where she earned a Master’s Degree in Education and her administrative credential. In 2001, Kong returned to her home district, San Francisco Unified, to become the Principal of Lawton Alternative.

Kong’s story is the California immigrant story. Her grandfather and mother left an impoverished and war torn China for the city known as “Gold Mountain” or San Francisco. Her mother worked as a seamstress in San Francisco’s Chinatown to support her four children and an aging father-in-law. Kong was the first in her family to obtain a college degree.

Each March, the Assembly commemorates Women’s History Month through a ceremony in which each state legislator chooses an extraordinary woman in his or her district for special recognition. Honorees participate in a ceremony, hosted by the Legislative Women’s Caucus, on the Assembly Floor and spend the day with legislators.