S04.E01: Back to School

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Quote

The neighboring construction site of a new golf course causes issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions; an HR representative visits the school; following their kiss, Janine and Gregory's relationship status is revealed.

 

[Galileo908]

"Lemme get my proton pack." I missed this show so much.

So THAT'S what they're dealing with this year: Gentrification! This is even more sinister than the charter school. They work wives took bribes from the attorney! (complete with Ava taking a "proud of y'all" selfie and asking them to get something for her) Was Charlie seriously the first white kid at Abbott?! I never noticed.

Love that Janine and Gregory think they're being secretive about dating, but everyone, everyone sees it. They ain't subtle, I love it. But come on, Jacob knows how much Janine is into Gregory, but he still says stuff like "deeply in like with you."

"We're not selling drugs! We're having sex!" I am dead. Cause of death: Janine. Just getting busted with the keys had my dying, and then THAT.

"Our situationship is over." Goddamn, Ava.

[Annber03]

"Are we being audited?" LOL. 

I'm really intrigued by this whole setup with the golf course and its impact on the school, and the demographic chages that come with it. That's going to make for an interesting thread throughout the season, or however long it plays out. 

As for everything with Janine and Gregory, that fakeout bit early on! I'm glad that things are going well with them, it's nice to see them happy together, even with all the worries about HR and everything. Yay for them being able to get htat part of things out of the way..even with how incredibly awkward their announcement was to the others XD. Ava showing her support was nice, too. And of course Jacob was the only one they told, and of course the others all already knew :p. 

I liked Barbara making butterfly pictures with the kids :). That was cute. 

Looking forward to what this season has in store for everyone!

[kathyk2]

I thought this episode was better than the episodes last season. I loved Janine being so vulnerable and honest with Gregory.

[Blakeston]

41 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Was Charlie seriously the first white kid at Abbott?! I never noticed..

I don't think we've ever seen an Abbott student who wasn't Black.

While I know there are plenty of neighborhoods in Philly that are still quite segregated, I've always wondered if it was realistic for a decent-sized public school in that city to not have a single non-Black student. Is anyone here in a position to speak to that?

[kathyk2]

1 hour ago, Blakeston said:

I don't think we've ever seen an Abbott student who wasn't Black.

While I know there are plenty of neighborhoods in Philly that are still quite segregated, I've always wondered if it was realistic for a decent-sized public school in that city to not have a single non-Black student. Is anyone here in a position to speak to that?

Where are the disabled kids? There have been references to them but none on screen. If Sesame Street can have disabled characters so can Abbott Elementary.

[Ailianna]

There have 100% been disabled kids at Abbott. There was a whole plot with Mrs. Howard trying to get things ready for a little boy in a wheelchair. They built a ramp and she tried to find him a wheelchair desk. Gregory ended up coming through but that boy showed up every so often that whole season. He's jyst ine, but he was pretty prominent.

[BAForever]

Love that Melissa can always get info on everything. Ava and the rest of the crew now having to deal with some wealthy parents might be fun. Hopefully they'll explore helicopter and bulldozer moms/dads. And maybe a Karen or 2.

Edited October 10 by BAForever

[Seelouis]

55 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

There have 100% been disabled kids at Abbott. There was a whole plot with Mrs. Howard trying to get things ready for a little boy in a wheelchair. They built a ramp and she tried to find him a wheelchair desk. Gregory ended up coming through but that boy showed up every so often that whole season. He's jyst ine, but he was pretty prominent.

There was also a deaf student. 

[Bookish Jen]

When Janine and Gregory admitted they were girlfriend/boyfriend I actually said, "Awww." I hope the show doesn't Ross and Rachel them and the show doesn't spend too much time focusing on their romance.

And the gentrification development can make for some interesting story lines.

So glad this show is back!

[Night Cheese]

30 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

When Janine and Gregory admitted they were girlfriend/boyfriend I actually said, "Awww." I hope the show doesn't Ross and Rachel them and the show doesn't spend too much time focusing on their romance.

I always got The Office Jim/Pam vibes from this storyline, so hopefully the writers continue that and just keep them happy and don't focus too much on their out-of-school lives. I stopped watching The Office after season 5, but I think they mostly stayed happy and drama-free.

[jah1986]

So glad to have this show back! Nice first episode, gentrification is real and is causing issues in Philly. As a product of the Philadelphia School system, I can say we didn't have a non-black student in the school until I was in 4th grade. And then it was only one white boy and one Vietnamese boy. Taking those bribes is going to bite them hard.

[DearEvette]

“We got a white child now, do you wanna get HIS parents involved?”

This line took me out!

Good to have this back!

[Badsamaritan]

My babies are together, I'm so happy!! 😭

Janine when they were talking about going out to eat, and Gregory reminding her he needed buttered noodles and Janine said 'I would never take you anywhere that doesn't serve buttered noodles'!! I see you, Janine! 

Mr. Johnson thinking he's being hit on by Melissa and telling HR is too funny. I'm so glad this show is back! 🥰

[kathyk2]

6 hours ago, Seelouis said:

There was also a deaf student. 

We heard about the deaf student but we never saw her in person. I know Barbara was trying to get the ramp installed but I never saw the disabled student using it.

[JeanJean]

It's such a bummer every year when The Bear gets Abbott's Emmys.

I like The Bear, although Season 3 sucked. But it's NOT a comedy. It's a drama.

That said, Abbott is such a gem.

[peeayebee]

I was real tired of Janine and Gregory hiding -- or thinking they were hiding -- their relationship. It just wasn't funny to me, and I wish the show had done something else, like maybe Janine THOUGHT one of the teachers or staff was disapproving, and THEN she wanted to hide the relationship. I dunno. I just found it dumb, esp all the lame excuses they came up with in the staff meeting.

I did like at the beginning when the camera cuts to Barbara, Melissa, and Ava saying, "We all know!"

Good to see Morton again and that Jacob is holding onto the hate. 

The golf course story will probably be entertaining, but I do wonder about the realism of construction cutting off the water and gas with no apparent repercussions. I guess Melissa kind of explained it: The non-union workers are incompetent and accidentally broke the water line and then cut off the gas to a huge area because they didn't know the right way to do it. 

I also wonder about what Warren said to Ava about being able to sell jewelry they make because of child labor laws. Now of course Ava would be pocketing any money from the Etsy sales, but certainly children can make things and sell them.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, kathyk2 said:

We heard about the deaf student but we never saw her in person. I know Barbara was trying to get the ramp installed but I never saw the disabled student using it.

We've seen her multiple times. There was an episode -- I think it was the candy selling one, where Jacob was shown communicating with her in sign language. I actually think her name was Imani or something like that.

And last season there was the one that showed her voice recognition tablet lagging behind real time speech. So there were several scenes of her reacting just a hair behind everyone else. This kicked off an entire subplot with Janine trying to get her an ASL interpreter.

I believe we saw the student in the wheelchair at the end of the episode ramp episode -- showing that Barbara had gotten her classroom accommodation as well. There is definitely a student in a wheelchair because there was an article about the real 5 year old who is in a wheelchair who played him.

And there are probably more students in the various background shots.

Edited October 10 by DearEvette

[Seelouis]

1 hour ago, kathyk2 said:

We heard about the deaf student but we never saw her in person. I know Barbara was trying to get the ramp installed but I never saw the disabled student using it.

I’m pretty sure we did see the deaf student. It was a story line about getting an interpreter for her. 
 

Edited to add DearEvette explains it better above 

Edited October 10 by Seelouis

[Crashcourse]

52 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Good to see Morton again and that Jacob is holding onto the hate. 

I forgot, but why does Jacob hate Morton?

[Empress1]

17 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I don't think we've ever seen an Abbott student who wasn't Black.

While I know there are plenty of neighborhoods in Philly that are still quite segregated, I've always wondered if it was realistic for a decent-sized public school in that city to not have a single non-Black student. Is anyone here in a position to speak to that?

A West Philly public school would be all-Black or close to it. West Philly, particularly the further west you go, is primarily Black. Penn and Drexel change the demographics a bit, but if you’re a white Drexel prof with kids who lives near your job, you’re either sending your kids to private school or you’re living in/close to Center City (much more affluent) so your kid can go to Greenfield (much better funded. I actually wonder if University City is in that catchment but I’m too lazy to look). The white mom said everyone they talked to told them to go private and I can just hear that conversation. “Welcome! Where will you be living? … Oh. Have you considered Friends Select?” South Philly demographics would look different, as would northeast Philly, because more white people live there. 

Ava telling Barbara, Jacob and Melissa that she was proud of them for taking bribes had me dying.

Loved that the issue was Janine feeling vulnerable about how much she liked Gregory. A lesser show would have her having doubts about being into him.

 

Edited October 10 by Empress1

[SG429]

IRL Philadelphia, there is a city-owned golf course being rebuilt in W. Philly - Cobbs Creek, not Girard Creek. Not really causing traffic problems, and I don't think they've had any utilities mishaps either.

[HyeChaps]

Is Mr. Johnson single?

[Crashcourse]

Who would marry that curmudgeon?

[Galileo908]

17 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Who would marry that curmudgeon?

Oh I bet he's left a whole trail of relationships in his wake. He left some. Some left him. Some took organs with them. 

6 hours ago, JeanJean said:

I like The Bear, although Season 3 sucked. But it's NOT a comedy. It's a drama.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because of all the weird eligibility windows the past year, it kept winning for season 2. But still, yeah, it's the latest in a string of "comedies" that get nominated in that category because it wouldn't have had a chance in the drama categories.

14 hours ago, BAForever said:

Love that Melissa can always get info on everything. Ava and the rest of the crew now having to deal with some wealthy parents might be fun. Hopefully they'll explore helicopter and bulldozer moms/dads. And maybe a Karen or 2.

She's gonna call her her buddies from 

Spoiler

Paddy's Pub

To help them out.

[txhorns79]

23 hours ago, Blakeston said:

While I know there are plenty of neighborhoods in Philly that are still quite segregated, I've always wondered if it was realistic for a decent-sized public school in that city to not have a single non-Black student. Is anyone here in a position to speak to that?

I live in the Philadelphia School District.  I checked the demographics on the K-8 school about a block away from my home.  The vast majority of students at the school are black, but it does also have a sizable population of white students, with a much smaller population of Hispanic students. 

I then took a look at a K-8 over in West Philadelphia where I think they suggested Abbott was located.  It's student population is about 95% black with a few Asian and Hispanic students.  It says it has one white student.   

[kathyk2]

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

Oh I bet he's left a whole trail of relationships in his wake. He left some. Some left him. Some took organs with them. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because of all the weird eligibility windows the past year, it kept winning for season 2. But still, yeah, it's the latest in a string of "comedies" that get nominated in that category because it wouldn't have had a chance in the drama categories.

She's gonna call her her buddies from 

  Hide contents

Paddy's Pub

To help them out.

 

8 hours ago, JeanJean said:

It's such a bummer every year when The Bear gets Abbott's Emmys.

I like The Bear, although Season 3 sucked. But it's NOT a comedy. It's a drama.

That said, Abbott is such a gem.

It's a bummer that Ghosts can't nominated as Best Comedy.

[Shrek]

11 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

 

It's a bummer that Ghosts can't nominated as Best Comedy.

Because it's not funny?

13 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Who would marry that curmudgeon?

People I worked with always thought the same of me but I was a very different person outside of work than in work. Just ask any one of my ex wives. 😁

[tennisgurl]

Welcome back to Abbot Elementary! I swear I was about to throw hands when they faked us out with Janine and Gregory going back to be "just friends" offscreen, I really hope that we can keep this going and explore them as a real couple without any break up/make up nonsense. Janine being worried to make things official with Gregory seems realistic given her not so great dating history, and I am really happy to see how things go going forward with the cuties. 

It looks like gentrification is our next big issue, they even have one white kid at their school now! Who is not at all a ghost and is totally real! "Are we being audited?" 

I love the reoccurring HR character cutting Janine off real quickly from giving her whole life story and was just like "your boyfriend and girlfriend? Cool" and that was that. 

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, Shrek said:

People I worked with always thought the same of me but I was a very different person outside of work than in work.

I assume it’s kind of like Jerry from Parks and Rec - he got shit on at work but had an amazing home life. I wouldn’t think Mr. Johnson lacked for female company. If nothing else, he’d tell great stories - he has lived.

[Ilovepie]

23 hours ago, JeanJean said:

It's such a bummer every year when The Bear gets Abbott's Emmys.

I like The Bear, although Season 3 sucked. But it's NOT a comedy. It's a drama.

That said, Abbott is such a gem.

I love the Bear, and agree it's not a comedy. I love Abbott, but I still think What We Do in The Shadows should have won......

I felt so annoyed at Janine this episode. She was being ridiculous. 

Barbara's booger proposal was gross.

Jacob's facial expressions are always my favorite!

Edited October 11 by Ilovepie

[dmmetler]

On 10/9/2024 at 9:48 PM, Blakeston said:

I don't think we've ever seen an Abbott student who wasn't Black.

While I know there are plenty of neighborhoods in Philly that are still quite segregated, I've always wondered if it was realistic for a decent-sized public school in that city to not have a single non-Black student. Is anyone here in a position to speak to that?

I taught in a similar school to Abbott in Memphis for 8 years and could have counted the number of not-Black students on the fingers of one hand-we had one Latino family. 

[SoMuchTV]

On 10/10/2024 at 3:06 PM, peeayebee said:

The golf course story will probably be entertaining, but I do wonder about the realism of construction cutting off the water and gas with no apparent repercussions. I guess Melissa kind of explained it: The non-union workers are incompetent and accidentally broke the water line and then cut off the gas to a huge area because they didn't know the right way to do it. 

I personally think they included the utility cutoff issues just to give Lisa Ann Walter the excuse to say "wooter" multiple times.

[sugarbaker design]

On 10/10/2024 at 10:04 PM, txhorns79 said:

I then took a look at a K-8 over in West Philadelphia where I think they suggested Abbott was located.  It's student population is about 95% black with a few Asian and Hispanic students.  It says it has one white student.   

Is their name Charlie? 😉

[Joimiaroxeu]

Janine has returned to dressing in her, uh, eclectic way. Loved her hair.

The podcast kids had thought Jacob couldn't read. A teacher.

Warren from HR is still a lot and apparently willing to be even more.

What does glue have to do with the viscosity of boogers, Barb?

Ava's running a child labor-based enterprise from the school. Because of course she is.

Welcome back, Abbott Elementary!

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

16 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

What does glue have to do with the viscosity of boogers, Barb?

They eat the glue and it affects their mucous production. Same as dairy products. 
 

Sorry, but you asked. 

[Featherhat]

I enjoyed this ep and I'm looking forward to the gentrification plot this year. It will certainly be interesting to see Abbott deal with richer white parents who want to send their kids to public school but might get demanding over what *kind* of public school it is. It will be interesting to see the golf course storyline play out now that they're on the take with the planners. 

I was ready to punch a pillow when Janine said they decided not to be together would have been the world's most pointless stall. But yeah the fake out was cute. Although it's funny that Janine and Gregory thought they could keep it "secret" when it was being filmed for TV. There's only so far the mockumentary format can be realistic. But definitely not surprised all the other teachers knew

I was a little confused about when the last time Janine made something "official" that didn't work out. Did she mean Mo? Because that was a situationship (hate that term) that never moved into defining what they were. But the fact that she has dated so little as was with someone from what 12/13 makes me forgive her panic over everything, she doesn't have much experience navigating adult relationships. I figured HR wouldn't care as long as their professional at school because there's no power imbalance etc. Although it would be kinda funny to have Janine go full Amy Santiago and start daily updates on the relationship and BCCing HR in on all her and Gregory's communication. 

Loved Melissa going "I can't always get all the info any more and I guess that's a good thing" and then getting it anyway. 

 

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

1 hour ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

They eat the glue and it affects their mucous production. Same as dairy products. 
 

Sorry, but you asked. 

Unfortunately this is something I don't want to google because I'm having a hard time believing eating glue has an affect on anything but someone's gastrointestinal system. Ugh.

So is eating glue like eating dirt, it's usually a symptom of something the body is trying to fix? Thanks a lot, Abbott Elementary. One throwaway line by Barbara has me all flabbergasted.

[peeayebee]

I suppose it's a cliche -- but true -- that kids eat paste. I don't think it has anything to do with the body needing a certain mineral or whatever, nor is it a sign of pica. Kids just put things in their mouths, and paste might even smell interesting. (It's been a while since I've smelled it.) 

[kathyk2]

On 10/11/2024 at 12:45 PM, tennisgurl said:

Welcome back to Abbot Elementary! I swear I was about to throw hands when they faked us out with Janine and Gregory going back to be "just friends" offscreen, I really hope that we can keep this going and explore them as a real couple without any break up/make up nonsense. Janine being worried to make things official with Gregory seems realistic given her not so great dating history, and I am really happy to see how things go going forward with the cuties. 

It looks like gentrification is our next big issue, they even have one white kid at their school now! Who is not at all a ghost and is totally real! "Are we being audited?" 

I love the reoccurring HR character cutting Janine off real quickly from giving her whole life story and was just like "your boyfriend and girlfriend? Cool" and that was that. 

Janine dated Tariq since middle school and dated Maurice for a short time. I don't think that's worse than Gregory dating Taylor and Amber. It definitely helps they were friends before becoming a couple.

[Skyfall]

On 10/14/2024 at 10:47 AM, Featherhat said:

I enjoyed this ep and I'm looking forward to the gentrification plot this year. It will certainly be interesting to see Abbott deal with richer white parents who want to send their kids to public school but might get demanding over what *kind* of public school it is. It will be interesting to see the golf course storyline play out now that they're on the take with the planners. 

I was ready to punch a pillow when Janine said they decided not to be together would have been the world's most pointless stall. But yeah the fake out was cute. Although it's funny that Janine and Gregory thought they could keep it "secret" when it was being filmed for TV. There's only so far the mockumentary format can be realistic. But definitely not surprised all the other teachers knew

I was a little confused about when the last time Janine made something "official" that didn't work out. Did she mean Mo? Because that was a situationship (hate that term) that never moved into defining what they were. But the fact that she has dated so little as was with someone from what 12/13 makes me forgive her panic over everything, she doesn't have much experience navigating adult relationships. I figured HR wouldn't care as long as their professional at school because there's no power imbalance etc. Although it would be kinda funny to have Janine go full Amy Santiago and start daily updates on the relationship and BCCing HR in on all her and Gregory's communication. 

Loved Melissa going "I can't always get all the info any more and I guess that's a good thing" and then getting it anyway. 

 

 

I took it to mean the district job but I could be off base…

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 10/10/2024 at 6:27 PM, SG429 said:

IRL Philadelphia, there is a city-owned golf course being rebuilt in W. Philly - Cobbs Creek, not Girard Creek. Not really causing traffic problems, and I don't think they've had any utilities mishaps either.

That's where I grew up. I have so many fond memories of sledding down that HUGE hill every winter and then moaning incessantly when I had to walk back up. 

I was out of town for a couple of weeks so have only just seen this first episode but I am so happy it's back! 

"Are you a Mormon?"

"I've been saved. Thank you." 

[qtpye]

On 10/10/2024 at 10:21 AM, Bookish Jen said:

When Janine and Gregory admitted they were girlfriend/boyfriend I actually said, "Awww." I hope the show doesn't Ross and Rachel them and the show doesn't spend too much time focusing on their romance.

And the gentrification development can make for some interesting story lines.

I loved this episode and think the plot is genius.

I actually was happy that they did not Jim/Pam them.😁