If you had children attend Renner Middle School over the last 20 years, there’s a pretty good chance that they know and love Gwen Baumann. We are fortunate that both of our kids were in Gwen’s classes at Renner. Gwen inspired a generation of Plano students to be curious, thoughtful, and compassionate to one another. She is an excellent educator and an even better human. Our son had numerous impactful memories of Ms. Baumann and her classes, and when we asked our daughter if she had a story we could share about Gwen, she said simply “She loved us. And we loved her.”

Gwen shared on Instagram last month that she is battling invasive breast cancer. It has been a long, hard journey for her and her family. She shared it with the Plano community and her former students not to ask for help, but once again, to teach. She wanted her friends and students to know that what she is going through is real. It’s life. And while the battle is hard, she is fighting.

She doesn’t want to ask, but the truth is that Gwen needs help. Her treatment and medicines are very expensive, and the situation has prevented her from working, thereby cutting into her ability to pay her day-to-day bills. Her family has also maxed out what they are able to do to help. We have told her that we know the families who were graced with her as a teacher of their children will want to help, and so we are creating this GoFund Me to help her and to remind her of what she means to us and our children. We invite you to contribute what you can to help her fight in the toughest fight anyone can face. With much gratitude, Friends of Gwen

(Gwen had quite a few photos with students to share, but in the interest of student privacy, we agreed it was best to not share them here.)