Alpha Delta Kappa - Zeta Chapter - Sharon Lazo-Nakamoto

Sharon Lazo-Nakamoto spent the preponderance of her impressive career providing support for a most vulnerable segment of our K-12 students – Bilingual and English Language Learners. She was born in the Philippines and moved to Hawaii, speaking English, Tagalog, and Ilocano, a regional dialect. She attended school in Hawaii, graduated from Wayland Baptist University in Texas, returned to Hawaii to teach K-5, and then went back to the mainland where she taught in Wilmington.

After Sharon moved to Long Beach Unified in 1979, the district experienced a large influx of non-English speaking students particularly from Southeast Asia and Mexico. She was one of 28 teachers who started Long Beach’s Language and Learning Centers where they developed a curriculum to meet the students’ needs based on their English language proficiency. That task sparked an interest in ELD education that spanned her 38 years in the district. In her many positions including 15 years as a Program Specialist, she worked with the Cambodian Transitional Bilingual Program, developed parent involvement groups for non-English speakers, assisted in state compliance, and was appointed to a state advisory panel making recommendations about ELD teacher preparations and authorizations.

Sharon has been married to her supportive husband Don for 34 years and has a daughter Alyssa who is a news producer in San Diego. She joined Alpha Delta Kappa – Zeta Chapter in 1992 and despite her many school and family responsibilities, still made contributions of time, money, and beautiful silent auction baskets for the Scholarship tea.

In recognition of Sharon’s 29 years of membership and service, ADK-Zeta awards a scholarship in her name.

The College of Education (CED) expresses gratitude to all scholarship donors who continue to enhance the quality of education students experience at CSULB.