KENS 5 Anchor Sarah Forgany and Credit Human surprised Deena Ford with the KENS 5 EXCEL Award and a $2,000 check at Legacy Middle School.
SAN ANTONIO — “I am the product of addicted mother. I don’t know who my father is,” said Deena Ford. “When they say latchkey kids, I’m the epitome of that.
But nothing was gonna stop Ford from pursuing her childhood dream of teaching. And it’s a good thing she never gave up.
She has gone on to inspire hundreds of children over her years at Legacy Middle School while teaching math, despite a very late start in her career.
It took Ford 27 years in college as a part time student to realize her dream of becoming a teacher.
She was 42 years old, to be exact, when she graduated. But age is just a number, and Ford is now proving to be a powerful example for her middle schoolers.
“I often say that life got in the way and I had to take some side roads and some curves,” said Ford.
She was raised by her elderly grandmother. “I just thank God every day for her,” said Ford.
Her grandmother would later become Ford’s greatest example for grit and unmatched work ethic, instilling values in her that are today earning Ford tremendous respect amongst student Those values instilled in little Deena, shaped her into the strong woman she is today.
“I can relate to those kiddos that have addicted parents,” said Ford. “I can relate to those kiddos that may not fully understand where their next meal is going to come from or where they’re going to be sleeping at tonight.”
“That’s just the reality of it,” said Ford. “They may not be responsive to the educated Mrs. Ford, but they may respond to Deena that just said this.”
Their response often translates to better learning. Once she’s got their attention, Ford says even tough subjects like Algebra will sound interesting. That’s the moment she pulls creative strings using things like storyboards and video commercials to turn numbers and equations into lessons they can apply to their every day life.
“What if you work in this industry and what if you work on this job,” said Ford. “How much are you going to charge? And what if you have 20 customers? If you have 100 customers? How much money are you going to make?.”
Regardless if her lessons are about math or life’s curveballs… it’s pretty clear
“It’s coming from my heart,” said Ford.