Delores Ford
Ohio State Board of Education District 11
Tenure
Term ends
Years in position
Predecessor
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Delores Ford is a member of the Ohio State Board of Education, representing District 11. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Ford ran for election to the Ohio State Board of Education to represent District 11. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Ford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Delores Ford was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned a high school diploma from East High School, an associate degree from Cuyahoga Community College in 1995, and a bachelor's degree from Cleveland State University in 1999. Her career experience includes working as an educator, community health worker, and social worker. As of 2024, Ford was affiliated with Black Women Political Action Committee, National Congress of Black Women, and C-FRO.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Ohio State Board of Education election, 2024
General election
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ford in this election.
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Delores Ford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ford's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Delores Gray, a mother and grandmother, has taken on the responsibility of raising her two grandsons after the untimely death of her daughter. A former teacher and native of Cleveland, she is now a social worker and community health worker, with a commendable dedication to education, women’s rights, and overall wellness.
As the current President of the Carl Stokes Brigade, an organization with a rich history of social justice and advocacy, Delores has ensured that the group continues to thrive and make a positive impact in communities. She is also the founder of the BrickHouse Wellness Women Empowerment Group, which provides safe spaces for women and promotes mental and physical well-being.
A motivational speaker and collaborative author, Delores inspires others to prioritize self-care and personal growth in mind, body, and spirit. Her 20 years of advocacy reflect her commitment to education and social justice.
Serving on the Executive Board of the Black Women’s Political Action Committee, as well as being a member and serving as Chaplin of the National Congress of Black Women Greater Cleveland Chapter, her work exemplifies her dedication to community service and leadership. Among other honors, she received the Presidential Bronze Medal from former President Barack Obama in 2016 for her advocacy work in the community. - I am passionate about education and social justice. I firmly believe that all children deserve an equal opportunity in life, and education is the key to their success.
- I believe in our public school system; teachers are the backbone of our community, and I am a strong proponent of collective bargaining to ensure our educators' success.
- Community engagement is essential for our district's prosperity. Working families, students, and all public schools should be actively involved in shaping the success of our district.
Policies ensuring equitable access to education top my list—every child deserves a fair shot. Enhancing support for special education and inclusive learning environments is crucial. I'm very concerned about funding for public school's vs choice and charters schools.
Also, funding for mental health services in schools is vital; students need emotional and psychological support to thrive. Let’s not forget about updating curricula to reflect diverse perspectives and real-world skills. Also Making sure our educators supported.
I look up to Fannie Lou Hamer a civil rights activist, she fought for our voting rights, even when she was treated horribly, she continued her work until women of color could vote therefore creating a legacy in the civil rights world.
I recommend reading, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, this is a powerful book that provides a theory regarding education and how to overcome oppression and become liberated through education.
Integrity, it's all about consistency regarding one's values and actions. It means being honest and having strong moral principles even if no one is watching for an elected official, it's about making decisions that are in the best interest of the public, not personal gain and being transparent in all dealing. For an elected official, it’s about making decisions that are in the best interest of the public, not personal gain, and being transparent in all dealings. It’s about standing by your word and owning up to mistakes. Having leaderships qualities is a plus because it helps foster collaboration and innovation creating an environment where educators feel valued and valued. Having empathy helps you to connect and understand diversity with the communities you serve, and lastly commitment is very important, its having dedication to serving your constituents.
Keeping my word is very important, along with having integrity. As a community advocate working with people of all walks of life, keeping a line of communication open and being an active listener.
I believe the core responsibilities are setting standards and policy, overseeing and ensuring equitable access to quality education. Engaging with community and stakeholders to understand concerns, and needs. Working with educators, supporting them and making sure they meet criteria regarding licensures. Advocating for funding, reviewing budgets and working with the district to improve students' outcomes.
The legacy I would like to leave is that I worked hard to make a change in our community and educational system.
Tragic history in 2001 happened on September 11th, 2001, when the terrorists ran into the Twin Towers in New York city. It was a horrific sight and very traumatizing to say the least. Many have not recovered from that tragedy. I was in my early thirties.
My first job was working as a tutor, I worked for three years while in highschooler, upon graduation I worked s program assistance helping student with navigating computer skills .
Finding Fish, by Antwone Fisher. love this book because this autobiography shows how he triumphs in the midst of sexual abuse, drugs and poverty. Mr. Fisher was born and raised right here in Cleveland Ohio and his story was also made into a movie, right here in Cleveland
I would be Wonder Woman! I love superheroes!
Make it Happen, by Mariah Carey, such an inspirational song.
Dealing with grief is very complex, my daughter passed away 2019 from health disparities. My struggle is has become a gift, I see myself in many mothers that have lost a child due to health issues or gun violence and its very important to reach out to parents going through trauma and grief to assist them with your story and provide resources for the entire family.
I feel the primary job of a state board of education member is to oversee and ensure our educators have proper training and licensures. Our teachers are a vital part for our schools to thrive working to help them succeed is very important. A board member should serve as a liaison for the community and the district, advocating for the educational needs for students and their families.
My constituents are the community which includes students, their families, our teachers and all stakeholders. They are the ones whose lives within the community and district are impacted by decisions that are made. Engaging listening to ideas, understanding needs and concerns are important to help improve educational outcomes for all.
First, I would support diverse needs by active listening and regularly engaging with our teachers, students, staff, other faculty and community leader and stakeholders. Promote wrap around services such as professional development workshops, addressing diversity framework and learning styles. Understanding varied cultural perspectives and being able to incorporate that within the district for students, teacher, families. and community. Building trust and having open communication is the key to diversity for the district.
As a community advocate and activist, I make sure to do my research and outreaching to other communities to have a broader reach for district 11th. I believe in town hall meetings, especially community forums, introducing key groups, organizations, and stakeholders. The goal is to connect community leaders and elected officials that are serve district 11th, teacher unions; Ohio Educational Association, educational organizations such as MyCom, parent -teacher associations PTA. Even healthcare provider such as Ohio Medicaid school program
Good teaching should incorporate critical thinking, creativity, engaging the students, having active listening skills and clear communication. Teachers should also participate with workshops and other learning tools to continue their growth as an educator.
The areas I would like to expand would be in foreign languages like Mandarin Russian, French, other countries are fluent in these and other languages, along with financial literacy life skills. I think students should have choices, other than college and military, with trades they have many choices in careers such as electrician, plumbing, healthcare and yes, I see a need with advance technical training this help student to compete in the real world when they graduate, it is preparing them for success.
Advocacy work, meeting with community leaders and elected officials to create partnerships. Also, efficient budgeting to ensure that current funding is meeting the needs of the schools in district 11.
Safety for our students' teacher's faculty is so important. Having a plan in place is vital and can save lives. My principles are simple; Protection is key having a protocol in place in case of imminent danger, making sure everyone is properly trained. Prevention providing ongoing training on violence in the schools such as anti-bullying, and gun violence, and mental health services. Being proactive helps to address any potential problems before it happens. Supporting students making sure they are heard and respected, making sure resources are readily available for students, teachers and faculty in need of assistance.
We can support mental health needs of students/faculty and staff by having open door for communications and providing services that works with gun violence, suicide preventions other social, special needs issues and mental health. Including wrap around services that provide a social worker on site.
I love knock knock jokes. Why do cows wear bells, because their horns don't work. lol lol I know it corny, lol.
I would like to add committees that bring in parents, even more information on how funding is implemented.
Black Women Political Action Committee, State Democratic Party, Ohio Education Association, United Auto Workers (State and local ), Sen. Sherrod Brown's Canary Candidate Endorsement, and Eastside News.
An ideal learning environment for students would be having a smaller classroom size, Inclusiveness, and engaging. All students should feel valued and understood. Instruction should include different learning styles, creative styles, critical thinking should be encouraged, preparing students for real life situation. Again, making sure that mental health services are available and having active listening skill and just being open to communication.
Dealing with a pandemic that caused many deaths and other economics problems, I feel the district handled the pandemic as well as they could. The key was to make sure students, teachers and faculty were safe. For the future, more training on technology should be addressed to be more effective for the home-schooling environment.
As a parent and grandparent, I'm engaged with schools, my plans are to create a newsletter and social media (if they don't have one currently) to provide even more information that concerns parents and their family needs. Transparency, open communication and building trust is vital. Creating a partnership with our families will help to foster in open communication.
Having a multifaceted approach would aid in generating recruitment strategies attracting top talent and promote diversity. Building a distinct plan that includes outreach, job fairs offering incentives that includes competitive salaries and professional development. Promoting an inclusive work environment that values diversity, collaboration, and innovative ideas, which includes mentoring programs.
Accountability & financial transparency first and foremost for government elected official are a must. Board member serving should be held accountable and responsible for decisions, fairness and integrity. Having transparency when budgeting makes it easier to understand where funds are allocated and how funding is benefiting our district schools, students and educators.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Ford’s campaign Facebook stated the following:
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"I am passionate about our youth and their communities, and what affect their quality of life. As an educator, I dedicate my time to bring holistic wellness to my community through education, civic engagement and social justice".[2]
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| —Delores Ford’s campaign Facebook (2024)[3]
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
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