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Abbott Elementary is an American television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as a second grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, a fictional predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. The ensemble cast includes Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph and William Stanford Davis. The following is a list of characters, including the main cast and those who appear alongside the main cast in the series.
| Janine Teagues | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Quinta Brunson |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Second-grade teacher School District Fellowship (season 3) |
| Family |
|
| Significant others | Maurice (ex-boyfriend) Tariq Temple (ex-boyfriend) Gregory Eddie (boyfriend) |
Janine Teagues is the plucky and optimistic lead of the series who works as a second-grade teacher at Abbott Elementary. Throughout the series she remains unjaded by all of the things the school lacks and strives to make sure her students have enough to learn and grow.[1] While helping the students of Abbott, Janine also deals with challenges and relationships within her personal life.[2][3]
During the events of the first season, Janine is looked over by the staff of Abbott, particularly Ava who bullies her numerous times. Within the season, she dates Tariq, who she has been with since the 8th grade. She struggles with the thought of ending her relationship with Tariq; with the staff of Abbott siding with their breakup. At the end of the season, she breaks up with him when he decides to move to New York City to endure his career as a professional rapper.[4] In the second season, Janine struggles to get over Tariq and has troubles paying her rent, since she originally split the bill monthly with Tariq. When trying to rekindle Melissa's relationship with her sister, Janine describes her complicated family history, with a mother who never paid her any attention and a sister who lives in another state. She begins regularly hanging out with Jacob and Erika, an old friend of Janine and Tariq, who supports Janine and invites her to parties to increase her social mobility. She dates Gregory's friend Maurice throughout the season, which prompts unsaid jealousy. After their breakup, Janine and Gregory confess their feelings for one another, but both agree to remain friends for personal growth. In the third season, Janine and Gregory move past their awkward conversations as she begins a job working for the Philadelphia school system.
While hinted at in the pilot episode, Janine and Gregory have a will-they wont-they that is apparent in almost every episode. They teach classes next to each other and have developed a special bond. They almost share a kiss during the Christmas episode, however they are interrupted by Amber.[5][6][7] However following his break up with Amber, both Janine and Gregory share a drunken kiss at a teacher conference, but vow to ignore it.
When asked by late-night host James Corden about the relationship of Gregory and Janine, Tyler James Williams stated:
It depends how long they want us to go. I can confirm this—that Quinta has not made a decision about ‘will they or won’t they?’ I think everyone assumes that it’s a ‘will they?’, that they will eventually, but she is just like… ‘I’m not positive they’ll go that way.[5]
Their relationship has been compared to that of Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly's relationship from The Office, which already shares many similarities with Abbott Elementary.[5] They officially begin dating during the fourth season premiere.
| Gregory Eddie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Tyler James Williams |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Substitute teacher (season 1) First-grade teacher (season 2-present) |
| Family | Martin Eddie (father) Faith Eddie (mother; deceased) |
| Significant others | Amber Williams (ex-girlfriend) Taylor Howard (ex-girlfriend) Janine Teagues (girlfriend) |
Gregory Thompson Eddie is the co-lead of the series and a substitute, later full-time, first-grade teacher at Abbott. Gregory harbors a crush on Janine, however at first he hides it well. When he arrives at Abbott during the pilot episode, Gregory reveals that he originally applied to be the school's principal, and is upset with an unqualified Ava for taking the job he worked hard to obtain.[2]
In the first season, Gregory is hired as a substitute to cover for Tina, he immediately befriends Janine; who teaches a class right beside his. Gregory receives a phone call from his unsupportive father (portrayed by Orlando Jones) who tells him that he should leave his career of teaching and pursue a more stable career with him as a gardener. He also meets Barbara's daughter Taylor whom he begins dating. He applies to be a full-time teacher in the season finale, which he ultimately gets due to the school being unable to find a full-time replacement for Tina. During the second season, Gregory begins his first year at Abbott as a full-time teacher and continues to date Taylor; however later, Taylor breaks up with him. Following his breakup with Taylor, Gregory begins dating Amber, the parent of a student in Janine's class much to her unspoken jealously. After a breakup with Amber, Gregory confesses his feelings for Janine who reciprocates them, but argues that they should remain just friends for the time being.
| Ava Coleman | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Janelle James |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Principal |
| Family | Lorraine (grandmother) |
| Significant other | Andre Iguodala (boyfriend) |
Ava Eva Coleman is the school's inept principal who enjoys picking on and bullying her co-workers, specifically Janine. She also harbors an attraction to Gregory, which she does not hide well. She is also an avid user of social media and often focuses on it rather than her responsibilities of being principal.[2][8]
The first season showcases Ava's carelessness and antics on full display. During the pilot, it is revealed that Ava obtained her job as principal after blackmailing the superintendent, whom she caught cheating on his wife. However, Collins later visits Abbott and tells Ava that he has divorced his wife and is now married to the woman he was caught with by Ava, and that she is at risk of losing her job. In the penultimate episode of the first season, Ava wins over the district and the superintendent, and keeps her job. Following her successful presentation to the district, Ava continues her normal antics, although as the season progresses, it becomes clear that she is engaging with the job more and that she is developing actual skills as a principal. After substituting for Janine when she is out sick,[9] and sitting in on Jacob's class to investigate allegations of racism against him, Ava realizes that she actually likes her job and learning and decides to start studying for the principal's certification she should have had to get the job in the first place. Ava also starts to show more care and compassion for her staff more when she starts supporting them in their activities and personal life and has even started to like Janine a little more.
| Melissa Schemmenti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Lisa Ann Walter |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Second-grade teacher |
| Family | Kristen Marie (sister) |
| Significant other | Gary (ex-boyfriend) |
Melissa Ann Schemmenti is a second-grade teacher at Abbott, who has a large Italian-American family with questionable connections. She has a close connection with Barbara, with both being veteran teachers at Abbott.[2] Melissa's family is native to the local fire department, and is referenced in numerous episodes.
During the first season, much of the humor surrounding Melissa's character concerns her family's questionable connections to local municipal agencies and criminal elements. Although these connections generally worry her colleagues, they never question them since a large percentage of the time it benefits the school. Melissa begins going out with the vending machine stocker, Gary, at the end of the first season; the relationship continues into the second and third seasons, until their ultimate breakup after Melissa tells Gary that she does not ever want to get re-married. In the second season, when classes get combined due to a teacher shortage, Melissa receives ten third-grade students in her second-grade class. This proves to be to difficult to keep up with on her own, and the school offers her an aide in the distracting and childish Ashley Garcia, who only causes more problems for Melissa. Melissa is revealed to have a sister, Kristen Marie, who she has a rivalry with. When Janine attempts to salvage their bond, Melissa reveals that Kristen Marie left her alone with the responsibilities of her sick grandmother, and disrespected her when the funeral came around.[10] Beginning in the fourth season, Melissa becomes attached to her class' pet hamster, who she names Sweet Cheeks. She includes the hamster in various events at the school, even dressing up as Sweet Cheeks for Halloween.
| Jacob Hill | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Chris Perfetti |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | History teacher |
| Significant other | Zach (ex-boyfriend) |
Jacob Hill is an awkward and occasionally pessimistic 6th grade history teacher at Abbott who supports Janine and her mission.[11][2]
In the first season, Jacob reveals that he is one of two teachers remaining from a large number of new hires; the other being Janine. He mentions his boyfriend Zach to Janine, which leads to Janine being upset that he never mentioned him prior. He introduces his boyfriend Zach to the staff to help stop the spread of a TikTok trend.[11] In the second season, Jacob continues to support Janine after a grant of money is given to the school thanks to Barbara. When an educational dance troupe visits Abbott, Jacob reveals that he is a former member of the 'Story Samurai' that travels from school to school.[11] In "Librarian" he and Melissa become roommates and then friends after Jacob and Zach break up.
| Barbara Howard | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | Sheryl Lee Ralph |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Kindergarten teacher |
| Spouse | Gerald Howard |
| Children | Taylor Howard |
Barbara Howard is an old-school and strictly religious kindergarten teacher whom Janine looks up to.[2] Barbara is based upon Quinta Brunson's mother who was also a teacher.[12] Although vocal about her faith, it only rarely causes friction in her professional relationships.
During the first season, Barbara reveals that she is wary of new technology and prefers to teach the way she has for her entire career. Barbara cheats a new system provided by the school and is forced to come clean for her mistakes of not wanting to use the new program. Barbara has a husband named Gerald (portrayed by Richard Brooks) who visits her for lunch on occasion. For an open house, her daughter Taylor visits and she is displeased with her career choice. Taylor eventually begins dating Gregory. She bribes school board member Delisha Sloss into giving the school a loan, while later pondering retirement while on the school field trip to the zoo during the season finale; after her favorite zoo animal is retired, but ultimately she decides to stay with Abbott. In the second season, Barbara is forced to be the middle man in the relationship of Taylor and Gregory and has to be the one to tell him that their relationship is over. A former student of Barbara named Draemond Winding visits after an ad orchestrated by him takes a jab at the school, with him later targeting Abbott to become a charter school.[13] Her husband Gerald has a health scare later in the season, as she reveals to Melissa that he was tested for prostate cancer; however she reveals the test came back negative, but it still caused them to worry for his health. It is also shown that Barbara has been getting mistreated by her choir group when she wants to sing a solo because they think she is too "modern" for them.
| Mr. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" 1x01, December 7, 2021 |
| Portrayed by | William Stanford Davis |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Janitor |
Mr. Johnson is the school's eccentric, but surprisingly talented, janitor.[14] After being credited as a guest star during the first season, Stanford Davis was upped to a series regular for the second season.[15]
Not much is known about Mr. Johnson outside of Abbott, but he believes in conspiracy theories and shares them with the students despite the teachers being uncomfortable with his suspicions. He once convinced Jacob that the ghost of the former janitor lives in the basement.[16][17]
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Tina Schwartz is an overwhelmed teacher who gets fired for physically attacking a student during the pilot episode. She returns in "Delivery Day", revealing that she attended therapy and now works at a more pristine charter school, Addington Elementary.[18] She is featured in the attack ad made against Abbott, orchestrated by Draemond.[13]
Chanae and Devon are underpaid cafeteria workers at Abbott, who find Janine overly pushy and mildly annoying. In "Art Teacher", Devin refuses to allow Jacob and Barbara to make new menu items for the cafeteria, as he and the rest of the custodians have no time to prepare extra food.
Sahar is Janine's friend who briefly works at Abbott as a volunteer art teacher during the events of "Art Teacher". She and Melissa disagree over the latter's Peter Rabbit project, and though Janine agrees with Melissa, she finds it hard to turn down Sahar's ideas. When Sahar makes an impressive art piece using the books Melissa bought, Janine finally stands up to her. Her real name is revealed to be Sarah.
Denzel Collins is the school's superintendent during the first season, who is blackmailed by Ava to keep her job; after she caught him cheating on his wife. However, he reveals to Ava that he married his mistress and divorced his wife in "Open House" which puts her in a tough position. He later allows Ava to keep her job as principal.[19]
Alley Williams is a minor recurring teacher at Abbott who has been a teacher for nine years. She only makes an appearance in one episode during the first season, however she becomes a recurring character during the second season. She is mentioned in "Attack Ad", where Jacob and Gregory talk about a parent of Alley's student who was arrested for protesting at a strip club.[13]
Delisha Sloss is a member of the school board and a member of Barbara's church who she shakes down for a loan to the school during "Ava vs. Superintendent". Delisha reappears during the second season; being scammed at the mall by a student participating in Barbara's fundraiser.
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Ashley Garcia is a childish and easily distracted teachers aide that is hired by the district for Melissa after she struggled to maintain her combined second and third grade classes.[20][21] She befriends Ava after buying a shirt from her now defunct web-store. In "Candy Zombies", Ashley is put in charge of watching the bags of candy, however she is distracted by her phone and the candy is stolen and distributed amongst the students.
Draemond Winding is the owner of Legendary Schools, a company who plans to make Abbott a charter school.[13] He is a former student of Barbara, as he was a student in her first class at Abbott. He reassures her that his plan will help her, but she insists that it will only cause more problems for the school and its teachers.[20][21] He appears at an open house in hopes of convincing parents to support his plans, however they turn against him and rally in support of Abbott after questioning charter schools as a whole.
Venus is a staff member of Abbott who works closely with Ava, typically delivering mail to her office during important occasions.
Joseph Morton, or more commonly known as Mr. Morton, is an eighth grade science teacher who works with Jacob, despite their butting-head relationship. First appearing in "Egg Drop", he is annoyed with Janine for insisting her class take part in his egg drop experiment that he is conducting with his class. He does not like Jacob and both have a passive aggressive relationship with one another.[22] He reappears in the third season, having had a troublesome marriage fallout over the summer. The teachers observe as he becomes increasingly misogynistic and questionable throughout the school year. He is seen serving as a barrier in the developments of Janine and Gregory’s relationship by explaining that his wife, a former co-worker, drove them apart despite initially being fully in love with one another.
Tasha Hoffman is a teacher at Abbott who typically avoids Janine, and is very briefly befriended by Melissa and Barbara when she is away. Jacob takes a disliking to her, given her disrespect towards Janine.[23]
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Manny is the leader of a group of school district representatives for Philadelphia that come to Abbott in hopes of improving its quality. When Barbara pushes their agenda back, he tells her that his mother was a teacher and was inspired by her to help other educators. Throughout the season, Gregory worries that Manny has a thing for Janine, setting him up as a romantic rival.
One of two Philadelphia school district representatives under Manny, who work alongside Janine. He is briefly set up with Erika.
One of two Philadelphia school district representatives under Manny, who work alongside Janine, and is also openly gay.[24]
Rosalyn Inez is a librarian hired by the district for Abbott, being the first school to take part in a library program organized by Janine. Barbara is at first resistant to Inez and the program as a whole, but ultimately comes around to it after seeing how devoted Janine is to the program.
John Reynolds is the district's new superintendent who approves of Janine's library program in "Panel", and later appears in subsequent episodes. Throughout the season he is adamant about the district spending as little money as possible, and when he offers Janine a full-time job, she rejects it, wanting to return to teaching instead of helping every school in the district.
Warren is a recurring character throughputs Janine's stint at the district, working for Human Resources. He is often openly expressive about how much he dislikes Janine, and is not affected when she leaves. Additionally, he was not given a name until the fourth season premiere.
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Tariq Temple is Janine's insensitive but well-meaning boyfriend (later ex) since middle school, who is an aspiring rapper and self-proclaimed feminist. Throughout the first season, his career and gigs as a rapper take priority over the simple things Janine wants him to do for their relationship. He gets a call from New York during "Zoo Balloon", where he is given an opportunity of more gigs. He assumes they'd do a long distance relationship, but Janine decides it's time for them to go their separate ways. He returns in "Attack Ad" to gather the things he left at Janine's apartment. He asks Janine out to dinner at Bahama Breeze, and she accepts. Later however, she ultimately does not go.[13] He is briefly hired by Legendary Charters during the second season, but is eventually fired following a lawsuit since the jingle he made for Legendary sounded too similar to "California Love". He returns to Philadelphia at the end of the second season, and becomes the president of the PTA during the third season.
Amber is the parent of a student at Abbott. In the first season, Amber brings her son Joel into Gregory's class late, unknowingly preventing him from exceeding the amount of learning he should accomplish. Her son is moved to Janine's class in the second season, where she attempts to ask Gregory out by giving him her phone number through Janine. She and Gregory begin dating afterwards, much to Janine's jealousy.[7] However their relationship ends towards the end of the season, after both realize they are polar opposites.
Gary is a charming vending machine stocker who later becomes Melissa's affectionate boyfriend. Despite their love for each other, both decide to breakup during the season three premiere after Gary insists on a marriage Melissa does not want.
Taylor Howard is Barbara's daughter who begins dating Gregory after visiting the school for open house. She works for an alcohol-adjacent company, which Barbara disapproves of; instead wanting her to be a teacher, much like Janine. She accompanies the school during their field trip to the zoo. In the second season, while unseen, Taylor breaks up with Gregory for being a "broke boi".
Martin Eddie is Gregory's unsupportive father who wants him to do more with his life than just be a school teacher. He is a retired Military Lieutenant Colonel and owns a landscaping business; which he attempts to force Gregory into. He makes an appearance via a video call during the first season and appears physically during "Fight".[27]
Jones was cast as Gregory's father after online Twitter users pointed out that Jones and Williams look exactly alike.[26][28]
Zach is Jacob's boyfriend who helps the school, and accompanies them on their field trip to the zoo, by serving as a chaperone.[29] He returns during the second season cameoing in "Holiday Hookah", where he volunteers as a music teacher for the school. He returns later in the season, becoming a recurring character. In season three Zach and Jacob break up.
Kristin Marie Schemmenti is Melissa's sister who works at Addington Elementary, a rival charter school. First seen in the second season episode "Delivery Day", Kristin Marie is shamed by Melissa while visiting Addington, leading to Janine to discover that her and Melissa are sisters.[18] In "The Principals Office", Janine attempts to rekindle her relationship with Melissa, but fails.[20][21] She returns later in the season, where she and Melissa begin to rekindle their relationship; telling Melissa about Draemond's plan to turn Abbott into a charter school.
Erika is a friend of Janine from her relationship with Tariq, and is the aunt of a student in Janine's class. She later becomes Janine's best-friend and invites her to parties in hopes of improving her social mobility, while also being aware of Janine and Gregory's will-they won’t-they relationship.
Maurice is charming and a close friend of Gregory who takes a liking to Janine.[31] He first appears during "Holiday Hookah", where he visits a hookah bar with Gregory; and later appears during "The Fundraiser", where he asks Janine out on a date, to which she accepts. They begin dating following this, much to the unspoken jealousy of Gregory. Following Janine and Gregory kissing at a teacher conference, they both decide to tell Maurice the truth, to which he takes well. However, when Janine breaks up with him, he pushes both of them away. He is nicknamed "Mo" by the staff of Abbott.
Captain Robinson is the captain of the local Philadelphia fire station who first visits Abbott after Barbara accidentally starts a fire in the teachers lounge. Robinson appears again in the third season, this time sparking a romance with Melissa.
Ayesha is Janine's distant sister who she has a struggle with getting to visit her.[33] She is first mentioned during "The Principals Office" when Janine expresses her relationship with Ayesha to Melissa in an attempt to rekindle her relationship with her sister, and later during "Fight" where Janine calls Ayesha asking her to visit. She ultimately appears in a FaceTime call during "Valentine's Day", when Janine calls Ayesha for her birthday with the company of Jacob.
Vanetta Teagues is Ayesha and Janine's troubled mother who treats herself before them. She is regularly mentioned by Janine during many episodes, but physically appears during the penultimate episode of the second season, subtly asking Janine for money when her phone bill is turned off.
Avi is an EMT who works alongside Captain Robinson and later begins hanging out with Jacob, however, they are not romantically involved. He introduces his friend Olivia to Gregory during a double date, however Gregory’s attraction to Janine causes the duo to not work out.
Olivia is an EMT and a coworker of Avi who is invited on a double date with him, Jacob and Gregory. However, the sudden appearance of Janine and Manny at the bar the group attends to, causes friction in the date.
Courtney is formerly a student of Melissa who is later troublesome for Janine when transferred to her class. After discussion, Melissa and Janine realize that Courtney is not challenged as much as she should be.[36][37] She later returns in the second season, aiding Ava during her Shark Tank-style debate for the school's grant money. She re-appears later in the series, in various episodes.
Will is a student of Abbott who is primarily known amongst other students for his dancing. In the episode "New Tech", Ava asks Will, the lowest-performing student in his class, to read Becoming at a school assembly, unaware that his teacher Barbara has cheated a new reading system. Will tries his hardest but Barbara still comes clean about cheating. Will appears in various other episodes as a background character.[38]
Clarence is a student of Jacob who regularly calls him "Mr. C". In "Read-A-Thon", Clarence becomes a member of the podcasting club started by Jacob and Gregory; but ultimately leaves after Jacob refuses to take him and the other member seriously. He rejoins, and interviews Janine about her night with Gregory at the hookah club.[39]
Alex Perkins is a student in Janine’s classroom who, for a brief period, misses school on a daily basis while she is away working at the district. Janine and Gregory work together to visit Alex at home and convince him to return to school. Alex later appears in subsequent episodes during the season, with a recurring joke of him saying he may or may-not return to school.
Appearing in the second season:
Appearing in the third season:
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