After an amazing 26 years of teaching at Tahoma high school, Mr. Fountain will be leaving in June with the senior class of 2009. Three other schools have had the pleasure of letting Mr. Fountain teach at their school; Thomas Jefferson for two years as a social studies teacher; Decater for 3 years also as a social studies teacher; and he was at Kentridge for five years as the assistant principal. But, in our hearts, he will always be a Tahoma Bear.
With so many years of teaching he has had the opportunity to make some lasting friendships. Mr. Peters said “my favorite memory of Mr. Fountain was when he dressed up as Peter Pan and had a sword fight with captain hook. What other 70-year-old man can get away with wearing tights in front of 1500 people?” Mr. Peters also said, “Tahoma will not be the same without the true, the original, Mr. Tahoma.”
Mrs. Wood said that “committed” is the one word that describes him and his teaching acumen. Mr. Fountain once said, “You have to understand that most students don’t care what you teach them- until you teach them that you care.”
“It has been a real honor being your colleague,” stated Mr. Soldano. “My favorite memories of Mr. Fountain are of him as a M.C. of all the homecomings and graduations. Besides losing him as a terrific teacher, he will be missed at the special events he was so good at”
Barry Fountain didn’t always have a dream of being a teacher. Rather, his “dream job” was to be the President of the United States. The only reason he didn’t try to pursue it was because he fell in love with teaching. The thing we will all miss the most is his wonderful sense of humor. “I think humor is critical! I try hard to help students find humor in all things,” said Mr. Fountain. Something he will never forget is when he danced, because the new fire alarms would constantly go off and pretty soon they would just sit in class and they would just do the 101 fire dance out of the building because they knew it was a false alarm.
Students and other teachers have had many great times with Mr. Fountain.
“When Mr. Fountain elected a D.P.P.O (designated paper passer outer) and had them recite their pledge to goldy bear and his pal Sammy the salmon fish (a bear in his room with a salmon fish in its lap)”- Cory Ferguson.
“He always has a smile on his face and he is so charming. My favorite memory is when fountain received WSU teacher of the year; he and his wife had lunch along with the ceremony. He was so lifted and proud.” – Marie Page
“One day he asked Taube to read this section in “Raucous red”. When Taube didn’t sound “convincing” enough he made him go out in the hall. Everyone laughed because it was ridiculous and he told Taube to come back in and try it again. Taube had to do this about four times and Mr. Fountain finally let him off the hook but still said Taube could have done a better job selling it. This even made a very funny inside joke.” – Felicia Claflin

“I could never say thank you enough for laying the foundation for my whole high school experience. Without you, I might not have enjoyed as much as I did. Without your outgoing and friendly character to welcome me to overall give all of us memories that will last forever. There will never be a Mr. Fountain teacher ever again. It has been an honor and a privilege to be your student and friend.” ~ Cory Ferguson
“It’s been an honor and a privileged to be your colleague and to have been dubbed ‘Ganelle’, thanks to the upsets of e-mail and oddly placed last names. I thank the fates for crossing our professional paths and I thank you for expanding both my professional world and my teaching imagination. Peace to you and your next journeys.” – Gabrielle Nelson
“Mr. Fountain was my first boss, in fact he hired me at Tahoma back in August of 1984. Mr. Barry Fountain was the Principal of Tahoma High School, I was 23 and just out of college and got called for an interview at a school called Tahoma. I went into his office and he sat me down in a hard chair next to his desk and asked me 3 simple questions; 1. Why do you want to be a teacher? 2. What do you think makes you a good teacher? 3. Are you a hard worker? It was just me and him—I was scarred to death. When I stood up he wiped the glass on his desktop, I think I was sweating on it or something, shook my moist hand and said; I’ll get back to you!
I guess I didn’t wow him at the interview. He later hired me to teach science at Tahoma, and for 25 years I am still learning from Mr. Fountain--- everyday. He is an amazing teacher and an even better person. And to this day, I still think of him as my boss!” ~ Terry Duty

Aside from the humorous moments and dedication to hosting events and being involved, it can’t be said enough that Barry Fountain has influenced lives. He is a great teacher and a ball of energy and helped students learn by not just cracking the books but by getting their attention in a full, meaningful way. A teacher that is full of life and funny is easier to watch, to feel comfortable with and to learn.