The latest episode of Abbott Elementary opens with Janine teaching her class. The kids want to go to recess, but Janine advises them to be patient. She's having trouble with it herself, while waiting for Gregory to propose. Her excitement leads her to go on a tangent about recess, which really serves as a metaphor for her proposal, and it gets the kids riled up.
Meanwhile, Barbara and Jacob attend an early childhood education seminar. Barbara is there for the catering, but Jacob is excited to spend some quality time with her.
During the seminar, a teacher asks whether she should follow the mandated curriculum when a student needs more time to learn. The seminar speaker says, yes. However, Barbara says this doesn't mean they should pass a student who's failing. But the conversation leads some of the other teachers to confess that they've been doing just that. Barbara and Jacob are appalled, saying they don't do stuff like that at Abbott. But their colleagues laugh them off.
Janine tries to connect with Courtney
Back at Abbott, Ava and her staff prepare for the step team's dance competition. However, Mr. Johnson interrupts to collect his bonus check from the Janitor's Union. He admonishes Ava for not congratulating him but learns that she emailed him. But he apparently won't read it until next month.
Afterwards, Gregory arrives to meet with Ava, who tells him that he has to fire one of their teachers. The teacher, Dom, has missed 23 days of school, even though the Abbott teachers only get 10. They've sent him several warnings, but he hasn't listened. He has to go, but Gregory doesn't want to fire him. They're friends.
Ava advises Gregory to put aside his reservations and get the job done. In her words, "Relationships end, jobs last." She also brings Melissa in as a union rep to help Gregory keep the firing above board.
Meanwhile, Janine and Courtney hang out in Janine's classroom. Courtney has taken full advantage of Janine's open-door policy since she offered to support her earlier in the year. However, their relationship sours when Janine doesn't know how to respond to Courtney's feelings of sadness over her parents' divorce.
Barbara and Jacob discuss the Early Childhood seminar in the teachers' lounge. They ask Mr. Morton whether he would fail a student, and he says yes because he doesn't want the district to yell at him. Tasha says the same, leaving Barbara and Jacob shocked and disappointed.
Ava oversees the step team's afternoon practice, and the girls' routine looks good. However, they want new uniforms that Abbott can't afford. Ava doesn't know what to do, and the competition is next weekend. She wishes she were still with an NBA player so she could use his money. But, alas, she chose love over money.
Elsewhere, Janine reaches out to Ms. Alomar for advice on navigating emotional conversations with Courtney. Ms. Alomar suggests the group meet in Janine's classroom to talk things through, and Janine agrees.
Gregory encounters his first big challenge
Gregory meets with Dom in the library, aka his new office, to fire him. Dom didn't even know Gregory was the assistant principal because of his 23 absences. But he offers Gregory words of encouragement, even calling him "an inspiration." He does the same with Melissa when she tells him that she's now a union rep. As a result, they don't fire Dom. Instead, they tell him they just wanted to say hi.
Afterwards, they go to tell Ava, who admonishes them for not doing their jobs. She asks why they couldn't do it, and Melissa says that Dom is too precious to fire. Unfortunately, that means nothing to Ava, and she tells them that they have to let him go.
Later, Barbara and Jacob ask Melissa whether she knew about teachers passing students who are failing. She says she tried to hold a student back a few years ago, but the district passed them anyway. Barbara and Jacob are upset again, but Melissa points out that it's not always the teacher's fault. Ultimately, the district made the decision.
As a result, Barbara tells Jacob that they need to pick a fight with the district. They decide to brainstorm at her house later, and Jacob gets excited.
Barbara and Jacob take on the district
Ava comes up with a plan to get the money for the step team's uniforms. She says she ran into rapper Black Thought yesterday at Urgent Care, so she bet that he would miss the next taping of Jimmy Fallon. However, Black Thought posted a picture of himself at rehearsals on social media, effectively ruining her plan.
Meanwhile, Janine brings Ms. Alomar in to meet with Courtney, but she's closed off.
Back in Gregory's office, he and Melissa go over Dom's file. But Gregory gets distracted by proposal ideas for Janine. As they talk, Mr. Johnson comes in and offers some unconventional (and frankly, random) advice. Thankfully, the conversation gives Melissa an idea: transfer Dom to another school, so they don't have to fire him.
Later, at Barbara's house, she and Jacob brainstorm ways to solve their problem. Barbara suggests telling the district that they want to use Abbott as a test school. They can use that to show the district that honest grading helps the kids. Now that they have a solution, Jacob gets excited, but the mood doesn't last for long.
Barbara's husband, Gerald, reminds her that they talked about inching towards retirement this year. But based on her various projects, it doesn't look like Barbara is planning to do that. He advises her to at least think about it.
Dom says goodbye
Back at Abbott, Melissa and Gregory tell Dom they saved his job by getting him transferred to another school. But in true plot-twist fashion, he says he was hoping to get fired. He recently got into real estate and wants to pursue that full-time. Melissa asks him why he didn't just quit, and Dom says he was trying to use the severance package to cover the costs of his career transition.
Gregory and Melissa are upset and tell Dom that he's not fired. If he wants to leave, he has to quit.
Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson asks Ava what she'll do about the step team's uniforms. Ava says she's tried everything, even stealing from Janine, but she's out of options. She plans to break the news gently by telling the girls that it's what's on the inside that counts.
Elsewhere, Barbara and Jacob try to convince a district representative to let them put their plan into motion. But he explains that when students don't pass, the district doesn't get the funds. Barbara points out that the funds are useless unless they actually help the children. As a result, he relents and lets Barbara and Jacob use Abbott as a test case. But he warns them that if students fail, Abbott will face serious consequences.
Back in Gregory's "office," Dom apologizes to him and Melissa. He says he's decided to tell Ava that he's quitting. But Melissa stops him and says he's fired. This way, he can get his "big beautiful" severance package. Afterwards, Melissa tells Gregory he did well and even offers him advice on how to propose to Janine. You can't go wrong with a restaurant!
Mr. Johnson steps up
Elsewhere, Janine asks Courtney why she didn't want to talk to Ms. Alomar. The young student says that she doesn't like counselors and just wants to talk to Janine about her issues. Thankfully, Ms. Alomar agrees to help support Janine while she figures out how to help Courtney navigate her personal problems.
Meanwhile, the step team receives fancy new uniforms for their dance competition. Ava is confused about where they came from but eventually realizes that Mr. Johnson used his bonus check to buy them. She silently thanks him, while the girls gush over the clothes.
Later, Janine tells Courtney that it's her responsibility to talk to counselors like Ms. Alomar if she hears something concerning from her students. She apologizes to Courtney for the way she went about it but says she's not sorry for looking out for her. Fortunately, Courtney is understanding, and the two dap each other up.
The episode concludes with Dom offering the documentary crew some parting words before leaving the school with his belongings. He says he'll miss the people at Abbott, but won't miss teaching. That's how he knows that he's making the right decision.
Abbott Elementary airs every Wednesday at 9/8c on ABC.
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