In the sixties, Eastside High School is one of the most successful schools in Paterson, New Jersey.
Joe is a teacher in this school, and his class adores him because he teaches important things
with kindness but also fun competitions. One morning, his class is interrupted by fellow
teacher Frank, who tells him they're holding a meeting of the union executive board without them.
Furious, Joe bursts into the meeting and yells at everyone for not supporting his reform ideas
and always giving up as soon as the local government asks them to keep things quiet.
Tired of Joe's behavior, the board agrees to transfer him to another school. Twenty
years later, Eastside High has deteriorated to the point where it's called a "cauldron of violence".
The building itself has lost its shine, and the students don't know the meaning of good behavior:
bullying and violence are in every hall, they don't listen to teachers and even beat them up
when they try to intervene, and illegal substances and arms are dealt as if they were candy. Most of
the students can't pass the minimum basic skills test, and this is bad news for Mayor Bottman,
who doesn't want to lose the school to state administration because it'll cost him the
election. Frank, now school superintendent, and Mr. Rosenberg, the school board attorney,
arrive at the only logical conclusion: they must bring Joe back. Bottman doesn't like the idea,
but he approves it because he doesn't have a choice. Frank and Rosenberg go to see Joe,
offering the position of principal at Eastside, but Joe turns them down, explaining he knows
the mayor only wants to save himself and not the kids. However, Frank gets him to change his mind
by pointing out that Joe hasn't made a difference so far with all his "crazy Joe" routine and he
shouldn't take that to his grave. The next day, Joe shows up at Eastside as the new principal.
He holds a meeting with the other teachers and immediately puts his autocracy into play, saying
he's the only one that speaks in his meetings. After asking for a list with the names of every
student involved in criminal activities, he orders the custodian to clean the walls and make any
student in detention help him. Mr. Darnell, the English teacher, is demoted to assistant of the
football coach. There'll be guards in the hallways to help them stop the violence, and all teachers
must concentrate on getting the students ready for their next standardized test because the school
needs 75% of approval, and last time they did less than forty. Next, Joe calls for a school assembly,
where all the troublemakers from the list are put on stage. When Joe comes over, he bumps into
Kaneesha, who is happy to see him because he used to be her elementary school principal. Joe gets
on the stage and asks for silence, but nobody pays attention to him, and the troublemakers
laugh when he asks them to sing the school song. Seeing them as incorrigible, Joe decides to expel
all the troublemakers, promising the rest of the kids that nobody will bother them anymore.
Security takes all the students off the stage and this is enough to make everyone else calm down,
especially when Joe tells them they could be next if they don't study hard. In the afternoon,
Joe has a meeting with all the parents. Leonna, the mother of one of the expelled kids, is furious
about what happened, and many parents support her. But Joe doesn't give in and offers a speech about
a few bad apples spoiling the entire basket. He explains he expelled 300 kids to save 2700 and
that he promised God he would save this school. This speech earns him the support of almost every
parent, but Leonna stays angry. The following day, Joe comes to school to find a kid waiting for him.
Sams was expelled and now tries to tell Joe he made a mistake because he didn't do anything,
but Joe knows he's lying and takes him to the roof with him. He calls Sams a coward for not
telling his parents he was expelled and tells him consuming those illegal substances will kill him,
so if he wants to die this badly, he should jump. Sams obviously refuses and promises he'll
do better, and Joe accepts to give him a second chance, but if he messes up again, he'll be out
for good. During lunch, Joe goes from table to table hearing what the students have to say and
offering some advice. He's happy to see Ray is wearing a suit, which sets an excellent example,
unlike Sams and his friends who dress sloppily. When he notices them bothering a girl, Joe makes
them stand up and calls out their clothes choice in front of everyone, then asks them to sing the
school song. He also reminds the entire room that nobody should move during the school song,
so when Darnell bends over to pick up some trash, Joe sends him to his office. The boys don't know
the lyrics anyway, causing Joe to give them detention and inform everyone that from now on,
they all should be ready to sing the school song on command or there'll be consequences. Afterward,
Joe goes to see the music teacher Elliot to tell her about the new rule. Elliot accepts
it but she'll teach the school song after they're done training for an incoming choir concert in New
York. The kids are practicing Mozart, and Elliot would like their work to be respected. She calls
out Joe, saying he doesn't like other adults standing up to him, and Joe reacts by firing
her and canceling the concert so the students can concentrate on the incoming test. From now on, the
pianist Mrs. Powers will be in charge of the music class. Afterward, during his meeting with Darnell,
Joe gets called out again: Darnell thinks he's being treated as trash and wants the principal
to remember these are his students as well. This ends up with Darnell getting suspended.
Vice-principal Joan tries to make Joe see reason, explaining Darnell is more than just a coach and
that nobody understands what Joe is doing, but Joe responds that's exactly how he likes it. The day
of the practice test comes and all the students fill it the best they can as the teachers keep a
close eye on them. Joe doesn't want to wait long for the results, so he sends Joan to the school
board to ask for the letter directly. One morning, the special presentation a student is doing for
the local press is interrupted by an attack in the cafeteria. One of the expelled boys came back and
is beating up Ray, he's also got a knife. Joe quickly catches him and wonders how he got in,
security tells him someone must've let him in from the inside. At that moment, Joe decides
all school doors will be locked and chained. Sometime later, Joe finds Kaneesha feeling upset.
She's a smart girl but her grades haven't been good since she lost a place to live because her
mother doesn't want her. Determined to help, Joe takes Joan to see Kaneesha's mother at her home.
The mother explains she had Kaneesha when she was a teenager, so she had to drop her normal life
to work. Nowadays she's trying to get clean, but that puts her in an awful state of mind.
That's why she thought it would be better to send Kaneesha with child services, but she never
stopped wanting her around or loving her. Joe promises to help her find a better job and a nicer
place to live as long as she takes Kaneesha back and helps her stay concentrated on her studies.
The news of the chained doors reaches the newspapers, and Leonna takes the chance
to take the complaint to the school board. Frank scolds Joe for behaving this crazy,
mentioning that Leonna is organizing a group to remove him and the fire chief is on her side.
He thinks Joe is alienating everyone like he did with his wife, so now he'll write an apology
letter to Elliot and Darnell, because if Joe wants to be respected as an authority, he should start
by respecting authority as well. Darnell is re-instated, but the problems aren't over yet.
The fire chief shows up at the school with the press, so Joe gets him to leave while threatening
him with a bat. Joan tries to express her concerns over this attitude, but as usual, she's ignored.
To Joe's disappointment, the next time he sees Ray is when the boy comes to say goodbye because
he can't stay in this school anymore. Later, Joe finds Sams and his friends goofing around in the
bathroom. He makes them sing the school song and is shocked to hear a beautiful rendition done in
the style of a church choir. The boys admit it was Powers that taught them this, so Joe goes to
see her to congratulate her and ask her to teach everyone this version of the song from now on.
The results of the practice test arrive and Joe is disappointed to see they only scored 33%. He calls
all the teachers to the gym and tells them their inefficiency is to blame for these poor results,
so they have to work harder. Joe wants to start a tutoring program and an extra course on remedial
reading on Saturdays, but a teacher points out it's hard to make the kids come on weekends.
His plan is that they'll go to every student's house and talk to their parents to get them
involved, perhaps even invite them to come too if they don't know how to read. The following weeks,
teachers and students work hard to get ready for the test, and Joe's as involved with his
students as possible. This is still not enough for Leonna, who together with the fire chief goes to
talk directly to Bottman. Frank and Rosenberg try to defend Joe, but Bottman kicks them out of the
meeting and reaches an agreement with Leonna so she doesn't convince the town not to vote for him:
Bottman will get Joe fired, and Leonna will gather people's support for his campaign.
Later in the bathroom, Bottman tells the fire chief that they'll arrest Joe for the illegal
chains after the test, unaware that Rosenberg is in one of the stalls and hears everything.
Rosenberg informs Frank of this and they go to warn Joe, who quickly comes up with a plan: when
the security guards see the chief coming, they'll call code ten through the walkie-talkies and the
teachers can temporarily remove the chains. Afterward, Joan tries to talk to Joe about the
progress of their reading program, but he tells her he's too busy to look into it now and that his
vice-principal should do things without needing him all the time. At the end of the day, Joan asks
Joe for a transfer, explaining how frustrating it is to work with him. She calls him an egomaniacal
windbag that whips people who can't fight back and points out half the staff feels the same way,
they just haven't walked out yet because they care about the kids. Joan however, has had enough of
his lack of respect and support for the teachers, so she wants out. The next day before assembly,
Joe gives Joan her transfer papers. Then he gives the kids a speech about the bad fame the school
has in town, inspiring them to prove they're not savages. He also shows his gratitude towards the
teachers, which he gives Joan credit for. Next, Powers sings "Lean on me" and the kids sing along,
excited to show the government they aren't inferior. Seeing the whole school come together,
Joan decides to stay. On the day of the test, the students fill the exam with confidence.
But there's also a school board meeting coming and Leonna can't wait anymore,
so Bottman finally gives the fire chief permission to get a court order. Meanwhile at school,
Kaneesha discovers she's pregnant, but her boyfriend doesn't believe he's the father even
if she swears he's the only boy she's been with. Joe offers his support and promises they'll find
some other alternatives, but their conversation is interrupted by a guard announcing the arrival of
the fire chief with Leonna and reporters. Calling code ten, Joe tries to get the chains removed,
but the chief is ready and has a recording of this code, so Joe gets arrested for violating
the fire code, leaving Joan in charge. That night, the school board holds a meeting. Frank tries to
defend Joe's work, but Leonna points out the school only got 33% during the practice test,
meaning Joe actually failed at his work. The meeting is suddenly interrupted when every
single student shows up demanding Joe be released. Bottman knows it'll look bad if they fire a man
with such support so he talks to Joe, asking him to tell the students to leave. When Joe refuses,
Bottman pulls out the big guns and explains the cops are getting ready outside. If the students
riot, things may get violent. Joe accepts to talk to them but only for the sake of their safety,
not because he thinks they're doing anything wrong. When he comes out, Leonna is talking
to the kids, but she's only getting insulted and reminded of all the things Joe did for the school.
He's touched when he hears them call him a father, but he's still worried about the police,
so Joe takes over and reminds them to respect the law. His speech is suddenly interrupted by Joan,
who brings the results of the tests with excellent news: the school has passed.
As everyone celebrates, Joe tells Bottman that he and the state can go to hell.
Joe gets to keep his job, and the students end the night singing the school song. When time comes for
seniors to graduate, Joe gives out the diplomas with caring words tailored for each student.