‘Abbot Elementary’ star Lisa Ann Walter is a teacher’s best friend—here’s why

Lisa Ann Walter, commonly known among millennial women as “Chessy” from 1998 remake of “The Parent Trap,” is currently starring as Ms. Melissa Schemmenti on “Abbott Elementary.” And while she plays a dedicated, powerhouse teacher on TV, teachers are near and dear to her heart in real life—which is why she’s dedicated to helping them as much as she can.

“My mom was a teacher,” Walter tells Motherly. “There was a discrepancy in who was getting the resources they needed to teach back then, and there’s a discrepancy in resources now.”

According to the National Education Association, over 90% of teachers in the U.S. spend their own money on necessary school supplies—everything from pens and pencils to tissues and paper. And the cost of supplies continues to increase, placing a financial burden on many families and teachers. Now, Walter is partnering with BIC to help support teachers fill their classrooms with everything they need this school year.

On Thursday, August 3 in New York City, BIC, and Lisa Ann Walter are inviting educators, families, and
more to the BIC Supply Closet, an interactive, school-themed pop-up experience. Teachers who show their school IDs will gain admission to a secret “teachers only” supply closet where they can choose from various BIC stationery products—free of charge—and stock their classrooms with writing tools.

If you’re not local to NYC, you can help support teachers through the Kids In Need Foundation’s “Supply A Teacher” program by fulfilling teachers’ wish lists in other under-resourced communities. Donors can fund a specific teacher, school, or district with a semester’s worth of supplies for students.

“Abbott Elementary” follows a group of dedicated and passionate teachers (and their hilarious, slightly inappropriate principal) as they work to help their students succeed in a Philadelphia public school where the odds are always stacked against them. Walter plays the no-nonsense, proud Italian, always-has-a-hook-up second-grade teacher at Abbott, Melissa Schemmenti.

Adorably, the student actors of “Abbott Elementary” refer to Walter as “Ms. Schemmenti” on set, even when the cameras aren’t rolling. And the actors who star in Ms. Schemmenti’s “classroom” aren’t just playing good students—they really are good students.

“When we’re on set, the kids in our cast have real worksheets in front of them,” Walter says. “The ones that are in my grade, the second and third graders, tutor each other and ask me about their math and spelling.”

Having dozens of kids on set most days comes with its own share of chaos, just like in real life. Walter’s bestie both in character and in real life, the incomparable Sheryl Lee Ralph, knows how to get the kids in line when the need arises. (Ralph plays veteran kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard.)

“Now Sheryl, nobody crosses,” Walter jokes.

The friendship between Walter and Ralph is one of the internet’s favorite friendships. And because it seems like the older we get, the harder it is for us as women and mothers to make deep and lasting friendships, the fact that these two are besties both on and off the screen is so lovely.

“I’ve been blessed to hand Sheryl awards on numerous occasions—I love it,” Walter gushes. “I’m so happy to do it. I mean, listen, they call us work wives. And it’s absolutely true.”

When Walter presented Ralph with the award for Best TV Actress at the AARP awards earlier this year, she acknowledged how special it is to make good friends in adulthood.

“They say you don’t make friends over 40. And I’m here to say I’m happy that’s not true,” Walter recalls saying at the time. “Sheryl is one of those people who will be in my life forever.”

While Walter wears many hats—actor, friend, teacher supporter, and, yes, she’s also a very proud “Chessy-core” proponent—she says there’s one role that comes before anything else: being a mother to her four kids.

“I’m a mom. I’ve been a mom as long as I’ve been a grown-up, so I identify, I think first and foremost, as a parent.”