Quinta Brunson’s West Philly elementary school honors Abbott’s namesake with portraits and an office renaming

When Quinta Brunson was selling soft pretzels and assembling hoagies to earn money for her sixth-grade trip in Joyce Abbott’s class, who could have guessed what would come of her relationship with her favorite teacher?

Not only would Brunson become the creator, writer, and star of the wildly popular TV show Abbott Elementary, but now, she and Abbott, the show’s namesake, would be honored with a portrait at her former school, Andrew Hamilton Elementary in West Philadelphia. On Wednesday, dignitaries unveiled the portrait and renamed the school’s main office in Abbott’s honor.

Abbott, who retired from a decades-long career at Andrew Hamilton shortly after Abbott Elementary premiered, has now earned a place as “one of the favorite daughters of Philadelphia,” Tony B. Watlington Sr., schools superintendent, said Wednesday. “Today, we are dedicating this office to Mrs. Abbott to ensure that her legacy of transforming student lives will always be remembered.”

Brunson was not present at the event, but Abbott was, hugging her former colleagues, posing for dozens of pictures, wiping tears from her eyes when she saw the portrait, which features Brunson, Abbott, and Abbott’s mother, 102-year-old Rosa Lee Stephens — connected, she said, by their grit.

“The many things that I have done I rarely talked about outside of work — sacrificing when I really didn’t have the means, just keeping the expectation high and believing in the babies,” said Abbott, who offered current Philadelphia teachers and staff “words to encourage each of you, because it’s not easy. But you never know the lives that you touched.”

After losing touch with Brunson in 2003, when she graduated from Andrew Hamilton, Abbott reconnected with her when the show that bears her name premiered. (Brunson has said the show was inspired by her own mother, a teacher, and by Abbott.)

Now, Brunson and Abbott have a special bond — they saw each other this month, when Brunson was honored by Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication. Abbott, who was careful to note that she’s just as proud of her students who became sanitation workers as she is of Brunson, clearly has a special place in her heart for the student who immortalized her.

“It was difficult for Quinta, and she had a dream, but she didn’t give up,” said Abbott, who remembers Brunson as a quiet but determined student, a hard worker who cried if she got a B. “And all of us have been through a lot, you know, but we were determined and pushed forward in spite of.”

Abbott’s portrait was commissioned by Steve Satell, founder of an organization called Philadelphia Legacies, which honors “Philadelphia problem solvers.”

Satell said Abbott was an easy choice, someone who has lifted up students and the West Philadelphia community through her years of work and the attention she brings to the plight of Philadelphia educators.

“There are invisible teachers all across Philadelphia going to work every day and making things happen,” Satell said. “Joyce Abbott represents them as well.”