When a student writes a letter to Whitney Houston asking her to attend the prom with him, faculty and students are amazed that she accepts. Houston's attendance at the prom causes Aisha, who is set to perfrom, to get stage fright. Meanwhile, Harper presents a radical way to prevent the firing of teachers for budget reasons; and Danny asks Claire's father's permission to marry her.
Hanson, looking for a way to increase his chances in adopting his niece, makes a sudden proposal to Claire (Missy Yager). Meanwhile, Guber challenges a student (rap star GQ guest stars) who wants to use rap music to show why Shakespeare ""sucks""; and Marilyn doesn't trust a record producer (hip-hop star/actor Method Man guest stars) who's pushing to sign Aisha to a recording deal. Also of note for this episode, the band Lifehouse (""Hanging by a Moment"") will perform at Doyle's Bar.
Aisha (Gray) is shocked when her father, a one-time famous musician but now an alcoholic, makes a surprise visit to Winslow High. He is seriously ill and leaves Aisha a tattered song manuscript. She puts words to the melody, which becomes her rendition of ""Dance With My Father"" (Luther Vandross' biographical song to be released in June). Meanwhile, motherhood troubles Marcie, who's taking a parental-training course, and fears for his niece's welfare preoccupy Danny, whose sister is still using drugs.
American Idol songbird Tamyra Gray, who lost the competition but won the hearts of TV audiences, makes her TV dramatic debut. Gray plays a shy Winslow student named Aisha, whose solo in an empty study hall overwhelms Marylin. So she persuades Aisha to audition for the upcoming school musical. The tryout's a disaster, but, thanks to Marylin's confidence-building, Aisha gets another shot. In other storylines, the battering of a gay teen prompts Guber to take a stand for tolerance; and a quickening crush on a fellow student ruffles a schoolgirl genius---who's 12.
Anne Archer plays willful and sultry Patricia Emerson, whose daughter Becky is a student in an English class taught by Colin Flynn. At a home-tutoring session for Becky, Mrs. Emerson comes on to Flynn. It's an attempted seduction that really heats up when Emerson---who says she's related to the poet-essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson---begins interpreting Emily Dickinson's ""The Sea"" for him as a poem rich in sexual metaphors. Elsewhere, Winslow's basketball coach denies charges that he illegally recruited a star player---who's enamored of Harper's daughter.
This holiday episode is enriched by dramatic confrontations, romantic complications and poignant reconciliations. For openers, the tense situation in a previous installment involving a parish priest and an altar boy yields a startling revelation from Hanson. In other storylines, Guber and Marylin are partnered in an off-campus dance class; Ronnie and Zach are increasingly frustrated in their zealous search for a secret trysting place; and Lipschultz is predictably discomforted---especially by an invitation to attend his black son's family gathering on Christmas Day.
Violence and compassion commingle in this insightful episode. In the main plot, a rebellious, Irish-American teen squares off against an offended, African-American classmate in a racially incited brawl that distresses their caring teacher and leads to a more contentious fray with principal Harper. In other storylines, Winslow teachers undergo peer evaluations where Ronnie reluctantly grades Zach, with whom she has a somewhat romantic involvement; and Marla seeks to arrange medical help for a hearing-impaired student, whose parents aren't receptive.
A new year arrives at Winslow High and new tensions immediately arise. Brooke is caught in the middle when a group of students plan a walkout because the administration has been unable to handle crucial issues such as toxic mold in the bathrooms and overcrowded classrooms. Harper and Guber try to talk to the students, but the students see it as another weak attempt to appease them. And when the students stage the walkout, a riot quickly ensues. Meanwhile, Marla finds a newborn baby in the toilet and discovers that her student Amy had just given birth and left the baby in the bathroom. Amy insists that she wanted her baby and was coming back to get her. Marla rationalizes that Amy was in shock and was coming back immediately. To protect Amy, Marla tells the police that her baby was on the floor. This prompts Danny, who is highly suspicious, to tell Harper and Guber, who are then forced to notify the authorities that evening. Senate runs into his student, Trina, while taking a drive in R