December 02, 2025
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA
Quinta Brunson has featured a Philly field trip on each season of 'Abbott Elementary.' Now, her new fund will support real ones for public school students.
After chaperoning fictional kids on visits to the Franklin Institute and Smith Memorial Playground, "Abbott Elementary" creator and star Quinta Brunson is sponsoring field trips for real public school students.
The West Philly native has started a fund to cover the costs of field trips for city kids in Title I schools, which serve students from low-income families. The money will go toward admission fees at museums and institutions, as well as transportation and other resources.
"Field trips were some of the most memorable parts of my own education growing up in Philadelphia," Brunson said in a statement. "They opened my world, sparked my creativity, and helped me imagine a future beyond what I saw every day. Going somewhere new shows you that the world is bigger and more exciting than you believe, and it can shape what you come to see as achievable.
"I’m proud to support Philadelphia students with experiences that remind them their dreams are valid and their futures are bright."
Brunson partnered with the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the district's nonprofit fundraising arm, on the initiative. As a child, she attended Andrew Hamilton School and was inspired by her sixth grade teacher Joyce Abbott, the namesake of her hit sitcom. Brunson eventually graduated from the now-shuttered Charter High School for Architecture and Design.
While the Emmy-winning writer and actress kickstarted the Quinta Brunson Field Trip Fund with an initial contribution, school district boosters are soliciting additional donations online for Giving Tuesday.
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