Picture this: It’s 8 p.m. on a weekday, and you’re skimming your favorite streaming services options, looking for something new to turn your attention to. You’re searching for something funny but meaningful, light but not thoughtless. Enter four-time Emmy award-winning comedy show, “Abbott Elementary,” written and created by actress, comedian and producer Quinta Brunson. Set in Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a public school in inner-city Philadelphia, the show offers the audience a peek into the realities of America’s public education system, all while keeping a sharp sense of humor.
It follows a group of teachers and one principal as they navigate the difficulties of the public school system, including underfunding, overworked teachers and staff and the will to overcome it all. The show’s magic shines in its ability to find joy and humor amongst the never ending chaos the characters encounter.
The significance of Brunson in relation to culture and representation.
Brunson wrote the show with her own early childhood experience in mind, more specifically her mom, who also happened to be an elementary school teacher. In an interview for Fresh Air Radio, she talked about attending the same school that her mom taught at. When it was time to enter the sixth grade, she felt a bit uneasy.
“I was scared to go into the real world or what I looked at as the real world at the time, and [Ms. Abbott] just took me under her wing,” Brunson said, referencing her sixth grade teacher, who impacted her so much that she named the school — and the show itself — after her!
Along with writing, Brunson also plays lead character Janine Teagues, a teacher newer to the school, often seen as “wide-eyed” when it comes to the education system and being a teacher overall.
In an industry where the experiences of marginalized groups are often overlooked, the show handles stories primarily experienced by under-resourced schools and students of color with great care. This has a lot to do with the fact that Brunson — a Black woman from West Philadelphia — has been able to incorporate her experience into the show’s existence. Because of this, there is a necessary authenticity within each episode that makes the series feel personal yet also universal, specifically for those who attended an inner city school that often lacked resources. Not to mention the fact that Brunson starring in the show adds another layer of cultural significance, serving as a powerful representation both on-screen and behind-the-scenes.
Commentary on the United States public school system.
One of the stand-out qualities of “Abbott Elementary” is its ability to accurately portray the underfunding and inequities within the American public school system; this is blatant within the first episode. The show’s documentary style follows the teachers as they work, and Janine finds herself in trouble when one of her second-graders accidentally pees on the class rug. As Janine describes it, the rug is “like a huge Xanax for kids to sit on,” and the school and city claim there isn’t enough money to spare, despite there being a new multimillion dollar renovation at the nearby Eagles Stadium. This is just one example of how the show utilizes real-life difficulties that schools in this country face everyday.
According to the 2024 edition of “The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems,” in the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in K-12 public school funding for 39 states compared to data in 2006.
“There are 39 states that devote a smaller share of their economies to their K-12 schools than they did before the 2007-09 recession,” the report said. “This cost schools over $360 billion between 2016 and 2021, which is 9 percent of all state and local school funding during those six years.”
Essentially, most states dedicate only a small portion of their wealth to their public schools, and oftentimes the group that feels the impact of this most are African-American students.
According to the same report, “African American students are twice as likely as white students to be in districts with funding below estimated adequate levels, and 3.5 times more likely to be in “chronically underfunded” districts.”
“Abbott Elementary” is a prime example of this. Students that attend underfunded schools often live in areas that are low-income, and the show isn’t afraid to highlight this. Later in the pilot episode, Janine and some of the other teachers find one student sleeping in the spot where the rug used to be; Janine says it’s because the boy liked the rug since it was softer than his bed at home. The students in the school are primarily Black students, and the show makes it a point to recognize their struggles, while equally showcasing the characters’ strength and willingness to move past those struggles and strive forward.
By the end of the first episode, Melissa Schemmenti, played by Lisa Ann Walter, the school’s go-to for “creative problem-solving,” secures new rugs from a “guy” she knows — a guy who happens to have access to remnants from the Eagles stadium under renovation. Because who needs an actual budget when you’ve got Philly connections?
Abbott Elementary is more than just a comedy. It’s a celebration of resilience, a critique of inequity and a testament to the power of one’s experience. The brilliance of the show lies not just in its commentary of systemic issues but in its celebration of the people who navigate them every day: the teachers. Differentiating characters like Janine, the idealistic second-grade teacher eager to save everyone and everything and Barbara Howard, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, the seasoned veteran who’s seen it all, embody the passion and resilience of real-life educators.
By shining a light on the realities of America’s public education system while celebrating the people who keep it running, “Abbott Elementary” has carved out a unique space in the television landscape.