The teachers are back for development week, a time to prepare for the upcoming year; Janine is determined to start the year off right and leave her problems at home; Ava runs a side hustle out of the school parking lot.
Janine is determined to make Abbott Elementary look just as good as a new charter school; Gregory goes out of his way to avoid Barbara; Ava hosts an event to help decide what to do with the rest of the funds from the grant.
A travelling storytelling troupe Jacob used to be in visits Abbott Elementary for a day of education and entertainment; Melissa struggles with the new normal of her combined second and third grade class.
After Gregory sends a disruptive student to the principal's office, he discovers the kids actually enjoy spending supposed disciplinary time with Ava; Melissa invites Janine over to her house to teach her how to cook.
Janine is thrilled to help introduce a new beverage to the cafeteria, but it ends up causing unexpected consequences; Melissa clashes with her new aide, Ashley, who brings more disruption than help to the classroom.
A student steals a bag of candy meant to be given out to the kids at the end of the day and starts distributing it during school hours; Janine is invited to a Halloween party by an old friend and starts to reconsider her personal life.
The teachers are appalled after seeing a commercial in support of charter schools criticizing Abbott Elementary; Janine and Gregory talk about Janine's relationship with Tariq.
When the eighth grade science class participates in an egg drop activity, Janine insists her second grade class join in; Barbara is shocked at the clothing one of her student's parents wears.
Janine is out sick for the day, so Ava grows desperate and must step in to help out; Barbara and Melissa revel in the quieter-than-normal teacher's lounge.
Janine is convinced by a friend to go to a popular hookah club where she runs into unexpected colleagues; Jacob crashes Barbara and Melissa's traditional holiday dinner and in the process begins to learn the true meaning of Christmas.
Competition heats up between Melissa and Janine as their classrooms vie to win the read-a-thon pizza party. Meanwhile, Jacob and Gregory join forces to get their student-podcasting club off the ground.
Two of Janine's students aren't getting along, leading her to seek advice from her colleagues on how to help repair their friendship; Melissa and Ava plot to bring down Mr. Johnson in fantasy football.
Barbara organizes a candy-selling fundraiser to raise money for a school field trip to the science museum; when sales don't go as planned, Ava steps in to teach the students new, unconventional selling tactics.
The Abbott teachers discuss their relationships and plans for Valentine's Day; Janine finds out one of her students has a crush on her; Ava sits in on Jacob's Black History class after receiving a complaint.
Barbara's candle accidentally starts a small fire in the teacher's lounge, and a counselor suggests that she might not be handling the aftermath well; Melissa rekindles her childhood dream of being a firefighter.
Staff members head to the Pennsylvania Educational Conference; Gregory reluctantly attends after a disagreement with Amber; Jacob finds himself charmed by the Addington teachers.
Jacob secures a visit from a mural arts program for his students; Barbara and Melissa learn parents are petitioning to turn Abbott into a charter school.
On Teacher Appreciation Day, the district gives Abbott two courtside tickets to a 76ers game and the teachers must decide who deserves them; Janine invites the teachers to her house for game night and her sister, Ayesha, comes to meet.
Abott Elementary rallies to fight threat from Charter Schools, Meanwhile Ava plans a festival to draw parents to school and collect their signatures for a petition.
Janine's plan for a Memorial Day weekend solo trip is derailed when her mother shows up unannounced asking for help; Gregory notices his colleagues are great at small talk and realizes he needs to brush up on his people skills.
Abbott Elementary takes a field trip to the Franklin Institute; Gregory is eager to spend time with a reluctant Janine; Ava teaches the students about aliens, which leads to chaos.
