After a negative teacher review, Janine gets a confidence boost when a student gets transferred from Melissa's class into hers. Jacob tries to forge a friendship with an uninterested Gregory.

When the students start participating in a new online trend that causes disruption to the school, the teachers band together to put an end to it. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson provides comforting life advice to Gregory; and later, the teachers finally meet Jacob’s boyfriend, Zach, who joins in to help stop the students “desking.”

After Janine gets a look at the new charter school down the street, she becomes determined to fix up Abbott and make it just as good. As Gregory goes out of his way to avoid Barbara due to an awkward situation with his personal life, and Ava takes to the school library to host a “Shark Tank”-style pitch to decide what to do with the rest of the funds from the grant.

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. Elsewhere, Mr. Johnson and Jacob butt heads about how to take care of a cat found in the janitor’s closet.

Jacob is shocked when he finds out his colleagues are not invested in his frequent email messages and haven’t even been writing their own replies. Meanwhile, Gregory turns to Janine for help with a former student.

It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

While supervising the kids making their science fair projects, the teachers' competitive sides come out.