Barbara Gruener is a counselor and character coach at Westwood-Bales Elementary, a National School of Character. She grew up on a family dairy farm in Wisconsin and credits life on the farm with helping build her strength of character and work ethic during her formative years. Though she’ll tell you that she informally started teaching when she was in kindergarten, Barbara has worked a s a teacher and counselor with students across all grades, pre-K through twelfth, for thirty years. During that time, Barbara has always used fun as her invitation to engage, create, discover, learn, and grow with her students. She feels blessed to be able to connect with kids, be a part of their stories, and help them reach their greatest potential. Her boundless energy and passionate enthusiasm have taken her from San Francisco to New Jersey and Wisconsin to Puerto Rico, sharing her message about the importance of shaping hearts and minds for the future with kindness, respect, and care. When she’s not working, Barbara likes to knit, bake, read, write, and take long walks. She lives in Friendswood, Texas, with her husband, John, and their three children.
