It's been quite a few years since I've walked the halls of a school building, but the olfactory memory of hope and desperation, mixed with dilapidation and stress, still smells the same. Like the ingrained memory of the stench of a rubbed-worn eraser and the staleness of decades-old books, I feel like I am actually standing there with the characters of ABC's new series, Abbott Elementary. 

I may work in communications now, but I spent the first few months after my college graduation as a substitute teacher in Louisiana's public schools — a job that would enter in and out of my life over several years. Later, I found my footing as a teaching artist and mentor coordinator. These roles would also find me spending my days throughout public schools. These experiences allow me to watch Quinta Brunson's new show through a much different lens. It is not simply comedy to the trained eye. It's as if I am watching the pages of my past life turn while laughing at the funny, yet truthful storylines each week.

Here's how Abbott Elementary reminds me of every school where I've ever worked. 

The Teachers

Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson said her mother's 40 years as a teacher in the Philadelphia school system served as a muse for the show. 

"I got to see behind the veil because I was with my mom in the morning and at night, and I was in her kindergarten class all the time," Brunson told
Good Morning America, per PhillyVoice. 

I may not have ever worked in Philly schools, but Brunson certainly nailed every public school archetype in the cast. From the substitute who ends up being a long-term teacher to the young and still hopeful first-year teacher, to the soured, yet resourceful vets, and the I-know-so-much-about-Black-folks white male newbie teacher, the show has reintroduced me to everyone I worked with during my time serving in schools. 

I don't know anyone who has ever walked the halls of a school and not run into a Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph). The moment her character graced the screen and she introduced herself as a "Woman of God," I pointed and screamed, "I know her!" And then I found myself having that moment several times over until I realized I was referring to every teacher as the most realistic depiction on the show. 

Principal Ava Coleman

I am almost embarrassed to write this, but Principal Ava Coleman (Janelle James) is hardly exaggerated. And, every school employee reading this is laughing through their pain right now.

I can't even count the number of Avas I've met over the years, especially at public charter schools. While I can laugh at the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of an incredibly incompetent principal on the show, the truth is people aren't exactly lining up to run underfunded schools. Sometimes an Ava Coleman, someone who shows up every day and is too honest about the expected outcomes for anybody's good, is the best it gets.  

Having spent time in schools, I'd even venture to say she isn't all that bad of a principal. I've definitely seen worse. The best part about this character, though, is that while she seems to be lazy and checked-out, she also appears to care as deeply as the school system will permit. Still, she supports her staff by allowing them to utilize the measures they see fit to effectively do their jobs. One thing any school employee can tell you (but won't) is that having a principal turn a blind eye to them getting stuff done by any means isn't as bad as one may think. 

The Dilapidated Building

Anyone who has ever spent even a half-day in an older school building can confirm — you must have light janitorial skills to survive. Because though the janitor Mr. Johnson (William Stanford) actually works there, that dilapidated building Mr. Johnson cannot care for exists IRL.

If you've ever had the misfortune of reporting to a poor-performing school that also happened to be underfunded, you know the great joys of uncertainty that come with that job. Everything from not having your own classroom so you share with multiple teachers, to moving from room to room because there might be mold. The linoleum floors may be peeling, the walls may be yellowing, the toilets don't always work and the lights flicker all day long. And as you adapt to the setting of your daily routine, you learn to tuck the promise of a new school building low on your expectations list, because there are hundreds of other schools just like yours and you all have a long wait ahead. 

And, if you're teaching in a T-building, which is a fun way to describe a literal trailer that was meant to serve as a temporary classroom until the remodel happens, you begin to think of new words to represent the letter T. Words like turmoil and ten-years-ain't-temporary.  

The Hidden Messages

Tucked inside of a joke in nearly every episode has been a little nugget of truth. 

Abbott Elementary writers have clearly done their homework on what working at a school is really like. The content of the episodes has explored everything from teachers putting out school supply lists for the community to support them, to making snap decisions on how the day will run when everything goes wrong in the building, to the substitute teacher (Tyler James Williams) who will likely be there all year. 

These facts aren't always so fun, however. In episode four, "New Tech," the last one minute of the show drew the correlation between poor reading performance and the prison system. 

“Turns out the software we’ve been using was invented by the Pennsylvania Penal System to collect data for prisons. Something about the correlation between lower reading levels and the amount of prison beds they’re supposed to build,” the fictional principal says.

Seventy percent of all incarcerated adults cannot read at a fourth-grade level, according to a survey presented by Literacy Mid-South. Per the survey, the adults “lack the reading skills to navigate many everyday tasks or hold down anything but lower [paying] jobs.” Brookings Institution suggests that lower-paying jobs can lead to incarceration. 

Abbott Elementary essentially gave us all of those details in a 30-minute sitcom and even slid in a disparaging nod to Pennsylvania's deplorable juvenile justice system.

The Get It Done Spirit Radiates Through The Screen

Abbott Elementary is a fantastic show, an authentic depiction of America's public schools and a display of the actual feats teachers accomplish each school year. The get-it-done vibes and the support the teachers give each other through each crisis might be the most factual thing about it all.

While many of us are able to laugh because we can relate, I'm sure school employees past and present also feel the generosity of spirit radiating through the actors' portrayals of their real lives. I think knowing these on-screen teachers also put the children first is one of the most wholesome things.