Becky Freeley is the guidance counselor at her alma mater, Glen Ellen High School. Also on the faculty is English teacher Lisa Germain, who had been a classmate of Becky's; unlike Becky, Lisa had been popular as a teenager. Becky and Lisa are rivals for the affection of Tim O'Malley, an auto shop teacher turned underqualified Spanish teacher. Becky, Lisa, and Tim all have to deal with principal Phil Huffy and the pompous and power-hungry vice principal Bruce Terry.