Greta is a teenage runaway who steals the gang's television and sells it to get what little money she can. Fat Albert tries to help Greta change her ways and Mudfoot tells her the story of Hansel and Gretel in hopes she'll return home to her family. Greta eventually runs afoul of a gang who plan on stealing some bicycles. Fat Albert comes to her aid at the train yard despite the odds. Luckily, Weird Harold gets the police at the scene to rescue them in the nick of time. After her close call, Greta makes a much-needed phone call to her mother, eventually taking the first steps to return home.
After her father died, Buffy's mother recently started dating again and Mr. Haney is becoming more involved in their lives, much to Buffy's reluctance. She becomes further resistant when they announce they'll be getting married. Buffy runs away from home and hides out at the amusement park, even though it's closed. She winds up in danger as the gang tracks her down. Fortunately, Mr. Haney is able to save her in time and Buffy is willing to accept him as part of the family.
The gang is bussed to an integrated school, finding it difficult to make new friends. After Fat Albert lectures them, they make an effort to break ground with Margene and Kevin with a game of badminton, eventually working together to have fun.
The gang is impressed with the number of material items Steve and Claudia have, giving them the impression they're rich. However, when Fat Albert investigates, he learns the twin siblings are routine shoplifters, stealing the various items from department stores and selling them to other kids. Fat Albert later notifies their parents, who indeed find some of the stolen items in their rooms. The twins think they'll never be caught. But when a stock boy is arrested, accused of being the thief, they feel guilty and confess their crimes to the store manager.
Elisa has trouble accepting mixed-race children, especially when Kim, the gang's other classmate is the son of an interracial couple. She avoids interacting with him and runs off rather than play games with the group. She wanders into the old garment factory, which is condemned and winds up in danger. Kim and Fat Albert are able to enact a rescue and Elisa is able to learn a valuable lesson.
Weird Harold develops a gambling habit and tries to convince the gang to bet in a horse race. When they initially decline to contribute, Harold becomes an errand boy for Sheldon, a hustler, who promises to pay him. He's able to convince the others to join him, but Fat Albert refuses as he tries to talk sense into the gang. When the gang's sure bet loses, Weird Harold has to face the consequences for his actions as Sheldon has already since he was thrown in jail for his scams.
Beau and Francie are brother and sister. However, Beau lets it slip that Francie was adopted by their parents. After she confronts them, the parents indeed admit they adopted her when she was a baby. Francie is distraught and runs away, only to wind up in danger as she falls into a river and will get pulled into a drain tunnel. Beau and Fat Albert are able to save her in time and the family reunite proving that they love their daughter no matter what.
Fat Albert and the gang learn their superstar skateboarding friend, Lawanda, regularly hitchhikes to get free rides. Despite their cautions, she decides to hitchhike on her way to a skating tournament. Unfortunately, she doesn't make it as she gets into an accident and ends up hospitalized. She learns her lesson as she recuperates and promises the gang to win the tournament next year.
Fat Albert eats only junk food, as does his friend Slim. After an unnerving trip to the dentist, Fat Albert decides to start eating healthy food, but Slim sticks with the junk food. Slim thinks that's all he needs, but he's proven wrong when he plays sports with the gang and gets bogged down. Sluggish and ill, he causes the gang to lose a football game.
The gang's friends, Arden and Baron, are so in love with each other, they want to drop out of school and get married as soon as possible. At first, they don't care what others think, but then begin to have second thoughts when Arden realizes she won't be able to go to the high school prom or get her diploma. Then Fat Albert has Baron meet Mudfoot, who introduces him to Ellen, a woman just a few years older than Baron. She and her husband Joey rushed into marriage around his age, but once on their own, had trouble finding steady jobs, paying their bills, weren't able to keep their new car, and couldn't even afford a phone once their daughter was born. These factors help Arden and Baron reconsider their decision and now choose to wait to see how things will turn out to better prepare them for life as adults.
The gang goes on a camping trip to Cedar Lake where they meet some new people. Along the way, Fat Albert takes a particular interest in Janine, a pretty girl, and brags about his knowledge of water safety, only to find himself embarrassed when he learns she's the camp's main lifeguard, who knows more about safety than he thinks. The two get along and she makes him her assistant lifeguard. Eventually, their teamwork comes in handy when Rudy's prank on Russell backfires, leading both to jeopardy. After the narrow rescue, the gang and their new friends get a firsthand lesson in water safety.
While jogging with the gang, Fat Albert becomes concerned when his friend Patrice has bruises on her body. He eventually discovers she's being abused by her mother. Fat Albert tries to convince her that she needs to tell someone. She's initially reluctant, but Fat Albert persists and she goes to her teacher and efforts are made to get Patrice the help she needs.
The gang's classmate Patty was a straight-A student until she fell into the drug scene and now gets regularly high on marijuana. When the gang meets her drug pusher, Rudy is tempted to try it himself, but has a change of heart when he sees Patty in danger. He and Fat Albert are able to save her. They and a police officer meet with Patty's parents about her problem and she agrees to help get the pusher arrested, which is the first step on her road to recovery.
Fat Albert and the gang are in a boxing competition. They learn their new friend Dimitri is a ballet dancer and think he'd be too much of a sissy to join them, especially when one of them would have to compete against top boxer Slammin' Sandy for the championship. However, Dimitri easily proves them wrong by taking him on in the ring and utilizing his dance moves to get the better of Sandy, showing them that creatives arts indeed serve a purpose.
Rosita is a shy Mexican-American girl in the gang's class. Rudy ridicules her for her halting English, prompting her to miss class for a couple of days. When Fat Albert tries to intervene, they're interrupted when a fellow Hispanic has an emergency kitchen fire. With quick thinking and communication, they're able to put out the fire with little damage. Back at school, Miss Wucher assigns a project for the kids aimed at illustrating that they all have a heritage of which to be proud. Rosita is surprised the gang know of famous Mexican figures in history after returning to class and interacting with the gang again, eventually getting the last laugh on Rudy.
Fat Albert and the gang meet Marcus Detrick, a good athlete who's recently moved into the neighborhood. They invite him to play in an upcoming father/son baseball game, but he's reluctant to go, mentioning his father is out of town. But the true reason is revealed when he shows up after all, and everyone sees him drunk. It's eventually learned that Marcus' father in an alcoholic. Marcus and his sister Michelle run away from home to avoid the problem. After initially getting into danger, they go to the gang's clubhouse where Fat Albert convinces them to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There, they learn not to be angry or ashamed of their father and decide to return home to help their mother face the situation in hopes they can get him to recovery.
The gang helps Undine when her beloved and popular Uncle Monty dies.