Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary showcasing the grueling reality of an underfunded school in the Philadelphia area. The mockumentary follows a group of educators teaching from the grades of second grade to eighth grade and highlights the endeavors these teachers have to go through in order to give their students the quality of education they deserve.

“I think that Abbott Elementary shows the vulnerability of elementary school teachers (and school teachers in general) and how they strive to make the education of their children the best that they can with the given resources,” junior Skye Green said.

Not only does Abbott Elementary have a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%, it has also donated over $1 million worth of supplies to underfunded schools all over the country. In August 2022, the show partnered with Scholastic to throw book fairs at schools that are financially unable to host their own.

“The show casting mainly Black people is an amazing representation of what most underfunded American education systems look like,” junior Reagan Lacour said. “More than likely, you’ll see Black women teaching at schools in districts that don’t get a lot of money from the government to provide the kids with what they need.”

Quinta Brunson, who originally started on the hit Youtube channel, Buzzfeed directs, writes, and acts for the show. She plays the spunky and ambitious 2nd grade teacher Janine Teagues.

While the cast features stars who have been involved in Hollywood for decades, including Everybody Hates Chris and Let It Shine star Tyler James Williams, who plays Gregory Eddie and hit 90s show Moesha star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays Barbara Howard.

Additionally, with only being on television for two years, the show has been nominated for seven Emmys and took home three of those Emmys back in September.

In the past year, the show has also been receiving a large amount of praise as the cast is made up of a majority Black actors.

“The cast being majority POC shows representation, especially to people within the Black community, and gives people outside of that community a different view rather than stereotypes they may have towards Black people,” Green said. “The writer Quinta Brunson shows little Black girls they can follow their dreams because of the accomplishments she has made.”