Once A Cougar, Always A Cougar would be the motto for Barbara Macfarlane. Barb taught at Sahuaro from 1996 to 2009. A typical New Yorker living in Tucson was difficult for her at first but she found her home at Sahuaro. Barb taught AP US History and other classes in the Social Studies department. She quickly became known for her no nonsense disciplined style of teaching. Her AP class was taught like a college class and each student quickly realized the significance of her class and how her academic discipline would help them in the future. Many of her former students refer back to her class and the discipline they learned from her and how they use that structure in their lives still today. Barb also volunteered to run the National Honor Society and she encouraged all her students to get involved not only in the NHS but also as many activities as they could while attending Sahuaro.
Barb was incredibly invested in her students and even the students she did not have in class. She and her husband, Doug ,were at every football game, school play, state tournament, basketball game, and anywhere any Sahuaro team would play. She was totally invested in her students and the school. If a team was having a car wash somewhere she would be in attendance. And her dedication to her students does not stop at graduation, which she attended each year at Sahuaro.
Many of her students have become lifelong friends who she still keeps in contact with through the internet or in person. Barb has attended many graduations, weddings, and get togethers involving her students. One of her students commented that “Mrs Macfarlane’s class taught us discipline with caring” . “She set standards and we became better for them” stated one graduate who is now a prominent lawyer in New York.
In 2000 Barb was named “Educator of the Year” by Arizona Athletics and Channel 13. Barb lives in Goodyear, Arizona. She has two sons, Brian and Scott, and she loves being around her four grandchildren.