The beloved ABC mockumentary series Abbott Elementary has garnered tons of attention and praise from audiences and critics alike. One particularly influential character in the series is teacher Barbara Howard.

Barabara Howard is portrayed by Sheryl Lee Ralph (Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, The Distinguished Gentleman). Sheryl Lee Ralph has an accomplished history that just keeps growing positively with her. In 1981, Ralph was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, for her performance as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. 

Ralph has also recently won an Emmy Award for her role as Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary. This makes Ralph the second African American woman to win an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. 

Abbott Elementary is a hilariously heart-felt ABC comedy series, created by Quinta Brunson (An American Pickle, Quinta vs. Everything). Brunson also portrays a young and naive teacher named Janine Teagues on Abbott Elementary. The critically acclaimed series follows a multitude of highly dedicated teachers and their not-so-dedicated principal in an underfunded Philadelphia public school. Most of the teachers’ main goals are to make sure the kids at Abbott Elementary get the most out of their education. 

In an interview with Deadline, Ralph states that “it doesn’t get better than this,” in reference to her portrayal of teacher Barbara Howard.

Ralph has made her love for her character very evident, as she sees the impact it makes on all the surrounding characters. In the same interview with Deadline, Ralph explains, “recently, I was in the teacher appreciation room event with Becky Pringle, the president of The National Education Association in D.C. and just the way that teachers expressed what they felt about the show… the things that they say to me, the way they express their feelings to me talking about their teacher, and then telling me about their Barbara Howard. 

It’s very clear that witty, intelligent and hilarious teacher of Abbott Elementary, Barbara Howard, is more of a symbol for everything teachers are to the world’s youth.