Chalkbeat mentioned on season three premiere of ‘Abbott Elementary’

That was quite impressive!

Yesterday evening’s season three premiere of “Abbott Elementary” on ABC included a surprising shout-out.

Janine Teagues, portrayed by Quinta Brunson, the creator of the show, is discussing her choice of colors for the classroom with someone from the district: I wanted to go with blue because it encourages focus.

District employee Manny: And it also promotes calmness, which is crucial for primary classes. I read about that in .

Janine: You read ?

Manny: Mhm. Janine: I basically live in the comments section, so.

Readers from across the country immediately started reaching out to us after this happened. Our staff was ecstatic, to say the least. We were thrilled to see responses like this one:

If you’re new to and discovered us through Abbott, welcome! We are a non-profit news organization that covers schools and education policy in eight different locations around the country. Our team consists of award-winning journalists who reside in the communities we serve and have a deep passion for education. We also have a dedicated community of teachers and parents who read our articles and provide us with insights into what’s happening in their homes and classrooms. Many teachers, like Janine, are also members of our organization – they are donors who help us maintain our independence as local news faces challenges.

What was the story Janine mentioned? While there isn’t an exact match, we recently wrote about an Indiana school that introduced a new sensory room with teal-colored walls. (We have also covered the show and shared the perspectives of other Philadelphia teachers watching it.)

About our comments section: We did have an active one during our early days, but we switched to other methods of engaging with our readers a few years ago. Janine’s reference makes us believe that, like countless teachers, she has been a fan of ours for a while. Oh, did I mention that this year marks our 10th anniversary?

We are grateful that many individuals like Janine in Philadelphia, as well as other parts of the country, are passionate readers. However, we bet that not every Janine in your community is currently subscribed to our newsletter. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share this with them – they can sign up here – or take a moment to share your thoughts on last night’s episode.