| Episode |
"Fundraiser" is the thirteenth episode of the second season and 26th overall of Abbott Elementary. It aired on January 18, 2023.
Description[]
Barbara organizes a candy-selling fundraiser to raise money for a school field trip to the science museum. When sales don’t go as planned, Ava steps in to teach the students new, unconventional selling tactics. Elsewhere, Mr. Johnson and Jacob butt heads about how to take care of a cat found in the janitor’s closet.
Plot[]
Abbott Elementary is raising funds so they can go on a field trip to the Franklin Institute. Barbara is leading the effort in selling chocolates for the fundraiser. She is going from classroom to classroom to orient the students on how to sell their goods. She is now in Jacob’s room, telling them that they should always be respectful while peddling their products.
Janine is outside with her class, selling chocolate to passersby. David, Janine’s student, is discouraged since no one is paying them any attention. He goes up to a man, which so happens to be Maurice, and tries selling him some candy. Maurice refuses to buy any, thinking that it’s a scam. However, after speaking with Janine, he realizes that the kids are her students. So, he buys $10 worth of candy from David, whispering to the kid that it’s called game.
Janine tells the camera that ever since they met at the hookah bar, she and Maurice have been texting and it turns out that Maurice lives close by. Janine is charmed by him as she thinks that he’s really genuine. After a bit of chit chat, Maurice asks her out on a date, which she gladly accepts.
Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson is coaxing a cat that he found with some bacon. Jacob overhears and finds the janitor trying to lure the cat out. Jacob is instantly smitten by the cat and names him Cinnamon Cupcake Hill. Mr. Johnson disagrees with the name saying that the cat’s name is Milton.
In Ava’s office, a student named Henry goes to Ava informing her that he just had another growth spurt. Ava sees that he’s wearing pants that are too short for him. She cracks a joke before finding extra pants in her drawer and giving them to the boy. She notices Henry carrying a box of chocolates for the fundraiser, so she asks to hear his sales pitch. Henry shares what Barbara had taught them earlier. Ava says that he wouldn’t be able to sell anything with that pitch.
The teachers tally their chocolate sales.
It is the end of the day, and the teachers are tallying their chocolate sales. The total barely makes a dent on their goal. Barbara concedes that they’ll never reach their target and that they will have to cancel the field trip. Ava interrupts them, holding an empty box of chocolates with some money inside. She tells them that she took a few kids under her wing, and they sold out all the chocolate pretty fast. Barbara still thinks of cancelling the field trip, but Jacob tells her that if Ava keeps it up, they will definitely hit their goal. The other teachers try to convince her to push through with the fundraiser and Barbara reluctantly agrees.
The following day, the students are outside, ready to sell some candy. Barbara tells the kids that Ava will be sharing a few tactics which can help them. Ava tells the kids to take advantage of their cuteness and to appear sad so that they can sell more. She also teaches them to target liberal white people. She adds other tactics that include lying about having an illness and crying to gain sympathy. After witnessing Ava’s methods, Barbara thinks that it has gone too far. She thinks that Ava is turning the kids into a bunch of scammers and that her strategy is predatory and not of the Lord. Ava relents and suggests to a compromise. Barbara accepts on the condition that there be no lying and no racial profiling.
Elsewhere, Janine and Gregory bump into each other. Janine shares that she ran into Maurice yesterday and that he asked her out. Gregory loses his composure and warns Janine against going out with him, saying that he’s "one of those all-or-nothing kind of guys" who are intense. Janine is puzzled by Gregory’s reaction since Maurice is his best friend. Gregory clarifies that he’s not trying to talk bad about his friend, but that he just doesn’t want any blow back if things don’t end well between the two. Janine assures him that there was nothing he should worry about.
Ava calls Barbara to her office so she can read a special announcement on the PA system. Barbara warily does so but is immediately elated when she finds out as she reads, that they have reached their fund-raising goal. Ava tells her that they have one more day of fund raising left and that they should keep going. Barbara answers that she doesn’t want to push it, but Ava convinces her otherwise, pointing out that they can use the extra money to hire a part-time librarian.
Melissa tries to give Janine some advice before her date with Maurice, who she fondly calls “Mo.” The sudden referring to Maurice as “Mo” by the other teachers ruffles Gregory. Janine shares that “Mo” had bought a bunch of candy from her students which she found sweet. Gregory blurts out that he, too, wants to buy some candy but Janine tells him that her kids aren’t around. Melissa asks why he just doesn’t buy candy from his own students, and Jacob points out that he hates candy. Gregory shows annoyance at how hard they were making it for him to support young entrepreneurs. Mr. Johnson re-enters the lounge. He and Jacob have another disagreement. Earlier, it was about whether or not it was appropriate to feed the cat some milk, and this time, about the cat’s sleeping schedule.
Delisha Sloss and Barbara meet at the mall.
After class, the students go to the mall, accompanied by Ava and Barbara. Barbara notes at how good a job the kids are doing that she’s afraid they might run out of candy. They spot Delisha Sloss, the school-board member Barbara blackmailed for stealing money from their church. She, and two others, are greeted by Barbara. Delisha makes a thinly veiled insult at how she had a feeling that it was Abbott students milling about the mall because Addington Charter students would never do “this sort of thing.” Barbara rebuffs her, saying that they are being resourceful in filling in the gaps left by the district. She then sells them some candy for one dollar. Delisha clarifies if the price was really a dollar and not two, because she had just purchased the same chocolate earlier for $2. Barbara calls Henry, the student from which Delisha bought the chocolates, to explain. Henry gets tongue-tied as he glances at Ava for answers. Barbara realizes that Ava must have had something to do with it, so she asks Henry to give Delisha her change. Delisha retorts, saying that she isn’t surprised that Barbara is shaking down people again.
Humiliated, Barbara confronts Ava about teaching students to overcharge for the candy. Ava doesn’t deny this and calls it an incentive. Barbara expresses her appalment at how Ava has been teaching the kids to steal, which is contrary to the principles of the Bible. Ava doesn’t see it as stealing, nor does she see any issue with her strategy. However, Barbara stresses that no field trip is worth corrupting their students and that she made a terrible mistake trusting her.
In the teachers’ lounge, Melissa is arbitrating the custody of the cat between Jacob and Mr. Johnson. Jacob makes some fine points in his favor so Melissa suggests that the cat live with Jacob full-time while Mr. Johnson can have him every other weekend. That way, Mr. Johnson can get all the fun and little-to-no responsibility. Mr. Johnson begrudgingly accepts.
In the Admin Office, Gregory is handing out some chocolate to some of the staff. Jacob tells Gregory that he has noticed something weird about his behavior lately, especially about the candy. He also adds that the whole “Mo" thing makes him seem jealous. With this remark, Gregory’s facial expression changes as he walks away to avoid the subject. Something dawns on Jacob, so he frantically calls to Gregory, threatening to scream to keep him from walking. Gregory stops and faces him. Jacob asks Gregory if he likes Janine, but Gregory gives him a nonanswer and walks away.
Ava notices that Barbara has been giving her the cold shoulder, so she confronts her. Ava explains how Henry has been going to her office whenever he needs pants or lunch money. She says she just wants to teach him how to make extra money so he can take care of himself. Barbara says she understands but that it doesn’t mean that they should lie, cheat or scam. Ava points out that no one got hurt when the candy was sold for a little more. She then adds that the only reason Barbara gets to have “morals” about the situation is because she can afford them. What Barbara calls “scamming” was how Ava got by in life.
In the cafeteria, Jacob sees Brianne, a fourth grader, handing out flyers for her lost cat, Milton. She had lost him when she brought him in for show-and-tell. Jacob and Mr. Johnson return the cat to the girl, leaving Mr. Johnson in tears.
Still in the cafeteria, Barbara pulls Henry aside so they can talk. Henry apologizes to Barbara for humiliating her in front of her friends. However, Barbara tells him that it should be her who should apologize for embarrassing him. He happily accepts Barbara’s apology. Barbara asks the boy if he would be interested in helping out at a church bake sale. She offers him a 10% commission, which he accepts.
Ava witnesses the whole exchange between Barbara and Henry. As a form of a truce, Ava tells Barbara that the next time she does something to help others, she will make sure to give Barbara the whole story so that she is not surprised.
Janine on a date with Maurice.
Gregory visits Janine to tell her that he hopes she has fun on her date with Maurice, and that Mo is a really good guy. Janine thanks him and says that he must be if he’s friends with Gregory. Gregory offers some last-minute advice about not ordering the ribs because it can get aggressive. Later that night, Maurice and Janine are at a restaurant. Maurice is opening up about his family to Janine while she is aggressively gnawing at a beef rib.
Starring[]
- Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
- Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie
- Janelle James as Ava Coleman
- Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti
- Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill
- William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Guest Starring[]
- Vince Staples as Maurice
- Christopher Farrar as Henry
Co-Starring[]
- Lela Hoffmeister as Courtney
- Sterlin Woods as David
- Shirley Jordan as Delisha Sloss
- Phierce Phoenix as Malika
- Camden Coley as Vic
- Dillion Blake Allen as Tiniest Kid
- Jansen Lashley-Haynes as Passerby
- Kike Ayodeji as Young Teacher
Note: Camden Coley was credited as "Vick" in Student Transfer and Desking.
Ratings[]
"Fundraiser" was watched by 3.054 million viewers, earning a 0.55 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]
Media[]
Episode Stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (January 19, 2023). SHOWBUZZDAILY'S Wednesday 1.18.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated. ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved on January 20, 2023.