When Mrs. Berg learns that her old lover is coming to visit her, realizing that her lie of running the school has come back to haunt her, the kids help her pose as school principal. Gordon, a squeamish animal-loving student has difficulty in Chemistry class with dissecting frogs so he and Reggie try to convince Mr. Dyrenforth to approve a simulation computer program that provides the ability for virtual dissection.

This fun and footloose series begins when Julie tries her best to fit in at the New York School for the Performing Arts, with a little bit of help from Doris and Montgomery.

Budget cutbacks prompts the School Board to fire one of the dance school's teachers.

After helping her out when she gets kicked out of her English class, Reggie's close friend and the cafeteria lady, Rose, joins the school of the arts under Reggie's suggestion but when asked to audition with Reggie for a summer stock company, Rose gives up on both the stock company and the school but rekindles her passion for performing.

Doris learns that sometimes honest is not always the best policy. When Shorofsky is hospitalized, Bruno realizes that he is important to his life.

Doris is auditioning to star in a show. She falls and bumps her head and has an elaborate dream sequence in which she is on a quest to become a star. The school campus is set up with a ""yellow brick road"" path ""Dottie"" must follow and encounters several interesting characters (her fellow classmates in costume) along the way. Debbie Allen (the dance instructor/choreographer) plays the ""good witch"" and Mrs. Sherwood is the ""wicked witch.""

After an eventful party, Miss Grant is frustrated to learn that Danny and Nicole have not shown up for an important rehearsal. That frustration turns to grief when they learn that Nicole was killed while being driven home by a drunk driver, Mickey Garth. With the school grieving, Jesse takes it the worse vowing to kill Mickey.

The school is trying its hands at its first video yearbook and with alumni week in session, Bruno, Coco, Doris, Montgomery, Holly, and Chris are interviewed for the video. Miss Grant recommends Leroy for a lead in the alumni week show which is to be choreographed by big-time graduate Michael Taftner but he is not convinced that Leroy can take on the part. When Chris is asked to be guest speaker for Mr. Seger's class, he lies about his success which the two but heads over.

The School Of The Arts is plagued by a teachers' strike. Coco is upset because she wasn't chosen for the part of Desdemona in the schools musical version of ""Othello"". Once the teachers go on strike though she decides that instead of being angry, and not be apart of the production, she organizes everything so that the show can go on without Miss Grant's help. Bruno feels he needs to have Mr. Shorofsky's opinion on the music for the show because he thinks it should have a different tempo and style to it. Because of the strike he can't get Mr. Shorofsky's opinion and goes with his instinct, which turns out to be for the best. Once Leroy was cast for the part of Othello, he was having problems speaking the way the script was written. So he asks for Miss Sherwood's help to make him speak the way Shakespeare was meant to be spoken, even from someone from the Bronx.

New student, Dusty joins the school and feels particularly out of place. Leroy becomes Miss Grant's dance assistant. Chris and Danny prepare to play female roles in drama class.

Jesse presents his 30's-styled play to Mr. Dyrenforth who decides to fund the play with hopes of obtaining the prize money of $20,000 from the Kimble foundation. The board decides not to supply the funds but Lou Mackie donates the necessary production money. All is well until Nicole, who plays lead comes down with Laryngitis.

The School of the Arts has been selected as the location for director Jeff Stave's new film "Kittens Go to High School." Appointed student assistant to Mr. Stave, Jillian falls for him but reality sets in and it becomes clear that they can't be together. Maxie Sharp, the lead actress in the film enrolls at the School of the Arts.

When Bruno's uncle buys him a new synthesizer, Bruno gets a job to buy new music. He is doing a song for his aunt, sho just had a baby. Meanwhile, Julie wonders why Coco is suddenly so rude to her while they are doing a very important number together.

Doris, while pretending to be a hooker, meets a real hooker named Tracy, and tries to help her out.

Leroy wants his mother to come in for parents' day.

The kids suspect the ballet teacher is prejudiced against black students. They protest by stopping whatever they are doing and standing silent. It isn't til Miss Grant talks with this teacher that they know for sure that she feels black dancers don't have what it takes to be great. She is shown how wrong she's been during a performance by Stephanie. Bruno must escort a young musical prodigee around the school.

After a series of school lockers are vandalized, Dwight finds a suicide note and Doris tries to enlist her friends in helping her find the note's author.

Jesse wins a song-writing contest but struggles with remaining true to himself when a couple of big-shots try to re-write his work. Mr. Shorofsky has to decide whether to let a mediocre violinist into the School of the Arts when the hopeful's father offers the school much needed money.

The National Cultural Center selects The School of the Arts to contribute an item to a time capsule to be opened a century later but no one is able to agree on what that item should be. When Mr. Shorofsky gives Miltie an ultimatum; write a song or fail, he tries to pass off a fourteenth century ballad as his own.

The School Board orders the School of the Arts to have a Gym because of the mandatory P.E. class that students have to take. It takes a dance off between Lydia's class and a bunch of football players for the school board to see her point. Meanwhile, Leroy tries to save his brother Willard from a life of crime.

Bruno is in love with a dance major named Kathleen Murphy. When he is to write a piece of music for her, she performs for him and gets injured. It turns out that she has Multiple Sclerosis, and Miss Grant employs Leroy to help out Bruno. Unknowingly, the gang is helping Kathy to keep her audition.

Danny's father does not agree with his choice of being a comedian.

After being reacquainted with an old actor friend, Paul Seeger, Lydia gets him a job as an acting teacher at the School of the Arts. His toughness isn't received well at first by the kids, but as he opts to leave, they have a change of heart. Danny is asked to give a tour to Hannah Cooper an 11 year-old prodigy who's unwilling to play for anyone.

Nicole gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she's invited to sing back-up for her idol Frannie Fortune but Nicole gets a quick lesson in the dog-eat-dog nature of the business. After Mr. Dyrenforth reveals that he's lonely, Danny, Jesse, and Leroy decide to boost his love life by advertising the principal with his plastered pictures all over the city.

Coco and Lydia vie for a part in a show. Danny wants to meet Johnny Carson and becomes a waiter.