When Mr. Otis was conducting the English class, all the students were raking in As - but Novak can't seem to get the same caliber of work out of them.

A black student, Marcy Desmond, is violently accosted by a gang of youths who let her know that she's not welcome at Jefferson High.

A student named Steve Acero tells Principal Vane that Mr. Novak is prejudiced against him because he is of Mexican extraction.

Novak tries to help shy, introverted Sue Johnson by encouraging her to develop her talent for caricature.

Miss Cathy Williams is going to become a mother, but she wants to graduate with her senior class and she doesn't want to tell her parents about her condition.

Anonymous letters are sent to the school administrators accusing Novak of having an affair with Ellen Westfall, a married teacher. Novak must find the perpetrator of the unsigned notes and have them repudiated.

Chris Herrod, a student blind for a year as the result of an accident, tries to return to his studies but finds the strain too great.

Novak develops a romantic interest in Jean Corcoran, the new substitute teacher. But to his dismay Jean seems more invested in her new hobby of skydiving.

When a charismatic student receives a scholarship to a space academy, his rosy future takes a turn when he realizes his father's unattainable dreams are more important than his own.

Hank Nelby is more interested in making his fellow students laugh than getting good grades. After his mother Mrs. Nelby is notified about his failing, the prominent attorney blames the school and threatens legal action.