7.6/101,899 votes#1 - Pilot
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/7/2021
When the staff relates their needs, Principal Ava presents alternative options.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Quinta Brunson
7.7/101,572 votes#2 - Light Bulb
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/4/2022
Janine takes it upon herself to fix every problem when she notices a flicking light bulb in the hallway. Gregory asks Barbara for help talking to a parent, which leads him to spend his lunch period in an unexpected way.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Quinta Brunson
7.9/101,437 votes#3 - Wishlist
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2022
The teachers to ask the local community for new school supplies. Janine takes to TikTok and with Ava’s assistance, her video is a success and goes viral. Janine encourages Gregory to decorate his classroom.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Morgan Murphy
7.5/101,317 votes#4 - New Tech
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/18/2022
When a new computer program is introduced at Abbott, Janine is excited to finally help Barbara with something. Barbara is reluctant to accept change and finds herself in a tricky situation. Melissa surprises Jacob.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Brian Rubenstein
7.7/101,275 votes#5 - Student Transfer
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/25/2022
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.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Britanni Nichols
7.7/101,243 votes#6 - Gifted Program
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/1/2022
Janine convinces Ava to start a gifted program at Abbott led by Jacob. However, when some students begin to feel left out, Gregory and Janine put their heads together and come up with a solution. Elsewhere, Barbara pushes a hesitant Melissa to start dating again.
Director: Matt Sohn
Writer: Jordan Temple
7.5/101,184 votes#7 - Art Teacher
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/8/2022
When the school’s art teacher retires, Janine is thrilled when the replacement ends up being her best friend from college, but things quickly turn sour when Sahar gets in the way of Melissa’s class traditions. Meanwhile, Jacob and Barbara bond over their love for gardening and decide to start a school garden; but when it turns out they don’t know how to successfully grow anything, Gregory secretly gets involved to fix all of their mistakes
Director: Jennifer Celotta
Writer: Kate Peterman
8.4/101,338 votes#8 - Work Family
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 2/15/2022
After Jacob reveals a detail about his personal life, Janine realizes she doesn't know the other teachers as well as she thought; Gregory's stern teaching approach is causing his whole class to underperform.
Director: Jaime Eliezer Karas
Writer: Justin Tan
7.9/101,170 votes#9 - Step Class
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 2/22/2022
Janine is thrilled when Ava asks to help her teach the after-school step class, but the two don’t see eye to eye on how to run the program. Later, when Barbara, Melissa and Jacob plan an “eat-off” to decide who makes the best pizza in Philadelphia, Gregory is forced to reveal a secret
Director: Shahrzad Davani
Writer: Joya McCrory
8.0/101,118 votes#10 - Open House
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/22/2022
It’s Open House night at Abbott Elementary, and while Janine prepares to meet her struggling student’s mother, the rest of the faculty uses the time to relax. Gregory is taken aback when he learns how Ava got the principal job, and later, Barbara’s daughter’s visit creates a commotion in more ways than one when
Director: Jennifer Celotta
Writer: Brian Rubenstein
8.1/101,149 votes#11 - Desking
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 3/29/2022
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.”
Director: Melissa Kosar
Writer: Morgan Murphy
7.9/101,047 votes#12 - Ava vs. Superintendent
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 4/5/2022
With the school board threatening to pull their funds, Janine and Gregory decide to help Ava out with her presentation in front of the Superintendent. However, their plan is derailed when a curveball is thrown at Ava. Meanwhile, Barbara offends Melissa when she doesn’t agree with her blackmail idea.
Director: Matthew A. Cherry
Writer: Britanni Nichols
8.3/101,116 votes#13 - Zoo Balloon
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 4/12/2022
While on Abbott's annual zoo field trip, Tariq reveals that he has been offered a job in New York; Janine struggles with a big choice; Barbara starts questioning her future after finding out her favorite tuatara has been retired because of old age.
Director: Randall Einhorn
Writer: Jordan Temple
The Best Episodes of Abbott Elementary Season 1
Every episode of Abbott Elementary Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Abbott Elementary Season 1!
In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school...
Genre:Comedy
Network:ABC
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Pilot" is the best rated episode of "Abbott Elementary" season 1. It scored 7.6/10 based on 1899 votes. Directed by Randall Einhorn and written by Quinta Brunson, it aired on 12/7/2021. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Light Bulb".