PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It was an incredible and emotional day for Quinta Brunson at her alma mater, the Andrew Hamilton School, in West Philadelphia.
This is the city that raised her, and Wednesday, on stage in her middle school auditorium, Brunson received the key to her city.
IMAGE: “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson received a key to her native city of Philadelphia during a ceremony on May 28, 2025.
“Quinta Brunson, this is your city and you are ours,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker.
Brunson was having a full circle, fully Philly kind of moment.
“Even when I first walked in the door, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m home. I’m home. I’m in Philly,” Brunson said.
The Andrew Hamilton School inspired her hit ABC show “Abbott Elementary.”
“It’s interesting to be back in this gym that seemed so huge when I was young,” she reflects. “I’m reminiscing about my childhood and how I was motivated by everything around me.”
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Joyce Abbott, her 6th-grade teacher, inspired the show’s name.
“It’s unbelievable,” Abbott said. “I always knew she was headed for greatness, like all of my students, but it’s just amazing to see this.”
They also celebrated a brand-new mural wrapping around the school, one that Quinta designed with Mural Arts Philadelphia.
When presented with the suggestion of featuring characters from the TV show on the mural, she declined, opting instead to highlight the true heroes of West Philadelphia.
“That aspect was crucial to me,” Brunson explains. “There was initially a design with elements from the show, which I appreciated. However, having grown up in Philly and being familiar with the murals here, it was essential to me that the mural showcased individuals from this community, individuals from this school.”
Brunson took the time to give a shoutout to a few of her show’s muses.
Her mother, Norma Jean, a former kindergarten teacher, inspired the character Barbara Howard, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph.
And her old classmate Gregory Wright, now an educator himself, is the source material for Gregory Eddie.
Wright is also a consultant on the show, and right now, they’re working on season 5.
“We’re in the writers’ room now,” Brunson says. “We just started last week. I am so pumped, and I like what we have already so far.”
As part of this celebration, she is also donating a total of $50,000 to two different Philadelphia-area charities: one that provides music education and another that provides fresh groceries to kids in the community just like her.
Disney is the parent company of this ABC station.
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