Burroughs students are used to Mr. Abbott leading the Assembly announcements each morning and his annual rap performance during the fall pep rally, but beyond that, much of the student body can only imagine how he spends his average day.

“He lives in Haertter Hall. He wakes up in Haertter Hall. He does Assembly and then he disappears,” suggests Andrew Arnold (‘22). In reality, Mr. Abbott’s typical day entails Assembly announcements, many meetings, fifth-period lunches, and watching performances on campus.

A day in the life of Mr. Abbott begins at Assembly, where he introduces various speakers and club announcements. At some point in the day, he always makes sure to visit a class — whether it’s a first-period English class or seventh-period Spanish. Most of Mr. Abbott’s hectic days are filled with meetings. Each week, he meets with every grade-level principal to go over the calendar and logistics, and he meets with the school’s counselors frequently as well, along with many other meetings that allow him to make sure that everything runs smoothly at school. Mr. Abbott has lunch with the middle schoolers during fifth period, which allows him to familiarize himself with the new students.

Because Mr. Abbott’s house is on campus, he starts and ends his day at Burroughs. Campus residency has many perks, allowing him to attend different events around the school, such as sports games, concerts, plays, and parent dinners. Mr. Abbott also noted his appreciation for 24/7 access to the fitness room and the coffee. Describing the most important benefit of living on campus, Mr. Abbott shared, “If I didn’t live on campus, I would never see my family.” On the other hand, he explains that life on campus can make him feel trapped in the Burroughs environment, and adds “that’s the bad thing, sometimes I realize I’ve been in the Burroughs bubble too much. . . There will be sometimes, like a week or two, where I never get in the car.” Before being an on-campus resident, Mr. Abbott lived in University City, and he wishes that he could visit the Loop more often.

Mr. Abbott has dedicated the past 19 years of his life to making sure that Burroughs is a safe and accepting environment for all. He knows how special the school is and wants to emphasize how much Burroughs has to offer, stressing that students should “take advantage of the opportunities you have here; it’s never too late!” When reflecting on his career at Burroughs thus far, Mr. Abbott says, “I never thought I would run a school; I just liked teaching.”