Sheryl Lee Ralph Says the Kids Who Play Her Students onAbbott ElementaryBelieve 'I'm Their Teacher'

Mar. 15, 2025

Sheryl Lee Ralph.Photo:ABC/Gilles Mingasson

ABC/Gilles Mingasson

School bells are ringing for the cast ofAbbott Elementary!

On Saturday, Aug. 10, the cast of the hit ABC series participated in a panel – called “Abbott Elementary: Class Is in Session!” – at theD23Expo in Anaheim, Calif. While speaking at the event,Sheryl Lee Ralphdiscussed playing the role of Barbara Howard and what it’s been like to see “the writing evolve” around the character.

“First of all, I really love Barbara Howard,” Ralph, 67, said. “It’s that favorite teacher or the teacher that pushed you to do just a bit better because she saw in you what you might not have seen in yourself.”

Sheryl Lee Ralph attends D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Aug. 10, 2024.Disney/Laura Grier

Disney/Laura Grier

TheEmmy-winning actressalso revealed the kids who play her students onAbbott Elementarysee her as a teacher both on and offscreen.

She continued, “When I look at these kids that come into my classroom every year and their little faces believing that I’m their teacher. Oh my God, it’s just the best.”

“And they write me when the show is over, they’ll keep in touch, they’ll tell me what they did during the summer.”

Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, William Stanford Davis, Quinta Brunson, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter attend D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Aug. 10, 2024.Disney/Laura Grier

The D23 Expo event took place through Aug. 11, and featured sneak peeks at upcoming Disney shows and movies, includingPercy Jackson and the Olympians, Marvel’sIronheartandMoana 2.

Abbott Elementaryfirst premiered in 2021 and has since aired three seasons. The fourth season is set to premiere on Oct. 9. The show quickly became a fan-favorite and has won several major awards over the years, includingan Emmy Awardand aGolden Globe AwardforQuinta Brunson’s portrayal of school teacher Janine Teagues.

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“I’m not gonna tell you with who, or with what, or where, or when, but it’s really exciting and I think it’ll change television as we know it,” Brunson, 34, teased, perVariety.

Abbott Elementarycast.ABC/Gilles Mingasson

During the event, a few cast membersspoke with PEOPLE exclusivelyabout their dream guest stars.Tyler James Williams, who plays Gregory Eddie, suggestedSolange Knowles, whileChris Perfetti, who takes on the role of Jacob Hill, expressed his trust in Brunson’s casting.

“I feel like Quinta has been so great about bringing in people that I didn’t know about. But, fit seamlessly in the world ofAbbottand are just like so talented and such forces. And so I feel like my dream guest star is again, somebody I don’t know about yet,” he said.

William Stanford Davis andLisa Ann Walter, who play janitor Mr. Johnson and second grade teacher Melissa Schemmenti, respectively, both namedHalle Berry.

Janelle James, the actress behind the role of principal Ava Coleman, echoed Perfetti’s sentiments. “Like, it’s hard to do what you want. If that were the case, I’d be like [late singer] Prince or something. And then he’d just be Prince on our show, but that’s not the type of guest star that we do,” she said.

Season 3 featured a few buzzy guest stars withLana Condor, Sabrina Brier andJason Kelcemaking appearances in various roles.

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Abbott Elementaryseason 4 is set to premiere on Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. Past seasons can be streamed on Hulu.

source: people.com