Abbott Elementary 1.13

Zoo Balloon

The staff and most of the students from Abbott go on a field trip to the zoo. Janine's boyfriend (Tariq), Jacob's boyfriend (Zach), and Barbara's daughter (Taylor) help to keep an eye on the kids. Janine feels uneasy when she learns that Tariq wants them to move to New York after he gets a recording contract. A few kids have to stay behind at Abbott with Mr. Johnson.

Thoughts

I like the Breakfast Club references that Mr. Johnson brings to the episode.

Abbott Elementary 1.12

Ava vs. Superintendent

Ava needs to give a presentation to the board of education to justify the money that Abbott Elementary received in the past year. She doesn't know what to do now that her blackmail scheme no longer works. Janine and Greg help her prepare but at the last minute the superintendent makes it more difficult for Ava.

Thoughts

This episode was okay. There were some jokes that made me laugh. It wasn't bad but there was something lacking here. It didn't help that the outcome of the subplot involving Barbara and Melissa made it seem (in the end) as if Ava's presentation didn't really matter in the first place.

Abbott Elementary 1.11

Desking

The staff of Abbott Elementary tries to contain a new trend, desking, moving across the classroom by walking on desks. They get some help from Zach, Jacob's boyfriend, in figuring out who has been doing it. Ava doesn't understand how she's never heard of desking before. Janine comes up with more than one solution to the problem, the last of which works. Greg gets some advice from Mr. Johnson about job satisfaction.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode but I didn't love it. There were some good laughs.

Abbott Elementary 1.10

Open House

Janine turns to Barbara for help during the open house only to discover that Barbara's daughter is visiting from out of town. Gregory finds out that Ava got her job by blackmailing the school system's superintendent. Jacob plays cards with Melissa and Mr. Johnson.

Thoughts

This was a good one. The only problem I have with it is that I could see where things were going with the card game as soon as it began. I really like the last few scenes at the end of the episode, especially the scenes in which Janine interacts with Barbara and Gregory.

Abbott Elementary 1.09

Step Class

Janine teaches a step class after school to a bunch of students. Ava insists on helping to teach the class when she finds out about it. Ava quickly becomes the favorites step teacher and Janine gets pushed to the side.

Barbara, Melissa, and Jacob find out that Gregory doesn't like pizza. They can't believe their ears and give him a hard time over his taste in food.

Thoughts

This is a fun episode. It wasn't great but it was solidly good.

Abbott Elementary 1.08

Work Family

Janine gets upset when she learns for the first time that Jacob has a boyfriend who he's been dating for 2 years. Janine tries to get the other teachers to bond with her. Janine admits to the other teachers that she and her boyfriend have been together since 8th grade. Barbara and Melissa try to get Gregory to loosen up with his students.

Thoughts

This is a decent episode. It has a nice mix of serious and silly moments. It didn't blow me away but I like it.

Abbott Elementary 1.07

Art Teacher

Zahar, a friend of Janine, gets hired to be Abbott Elementary's new art teacher. Zahar is qualified but her approach brings her into conflict with Melissa who has her students doing an art project. Janine gets caught in the middle.

Jacob talks Barbara into joining him in starting a garden for the school where they can grow vegetables for the school cafeteria. Greg declines an offer to join them even though he has secret garden skills.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode, better than average. It wasn't hard to see where things were going or where they would end but it was still a fun ride.

Abbott Elementary 1.06

Gifted Program

Janine talks Ava into starting a gifted program for the more "intelligent" students. Janine gets Jacob to teach the program but everything doesn't go as planned.

Barbara notices that the guy who restocks the vending machine has a crush on Melissa. She encourages Melissa to ask him out on a date.

Thoughts

This was a good one. I liked both storylines. Nothing fell flat.

Abbott Elementary 1.05

Student Transfer

Janine loses some confidence when she learns that a parent has given her a bad rating. A student gets transferred from Melissa's class to Janine's class. Janine quickly finds out why.

Jacob turns to Greg for advice when it comes to dealing with students who have been roasting him.

Thoughts

This was a pretty good episode. It wasn't perfect but I like the idea behind it and I think it was well executed.

Abbott Elementary 1.04

New Tech

The teachers are given tablets to help them track how well their students are doing and to help them teach. Janine hopes that the new tablets will give her a chance to help Barbara. 

Jacob gets help from Melissa teaching his class about labor unions.

Thoughts

This episode didn't exactly do it for me. There was potential here but it fell short. The funniest moment was the one that Gregory and Janine shared in the hallway and it was only tangentially related to the main subplot.

Abbott Elementary 1.03

Wishlist

Janine tries to create a video wishlist for school supplies for her cless. She turns to Ava for help creating the video. The wishlist is wildly successful thanks to Ava's video expertise. Janine talks Ava into creating a video for Barbara even though Barbara says she doesn't want or need the help.

Janine encourages Gregory to decorate his classroom. Jacob tries to fix an old fax machine which no else think is worth salvaging.

Thoughts

Melissa didn't get much to do in this episode. Everyone else seemed to get their own little moments.

I thought this one started a bit slow but it picked up. I like how it all turned out in the end. I especially like how Ava turns out to be a genius when it comes to making videos.

Abbott Elementary 1.02

Light Bulb

Janine complains to Mr. Johnson about the lights in the hallway. He's going fishing and doesn't take the time to fix the lights. Janine tries to fix the broken lights and makes the situation worse. She tries to fix the mess she made and makes the situation even worse.

Greg has to work up the nerve to tell the mother of one of his students that she needs to bring him in on time. Barbara helps to motivate him to do it.

Thoughts

This one started a little slow. It feels a bit like one of those in between episodes. There are developments in the backstories of Janine and Greg but nothing momentous just yet.

Abbott Elementary 1.01

Pilot

Janine is in her second year teaching at Abbott Elementary in Philadelphia, PA. She needs a new rug for her classroom because one of her students peed on the one she has.

Ava, the principal, gets some money for the school and spends it all on a new sign for the school.

Greg is hired to take the place of a teacher who was fired for hitting a student. He applied for the job of principal but Ava got it because she has connections and because she blackmailed someone in high places.

Jacob is the only remaining teacher who was hired at the same time as Janine.

Barbara and Melissa are the veteran teachers and considerably more jaded about the system and how it works.