Hal Griffith - Good friend of Lou Anne. Also a teacher at Parkmont High School and brought Lou Anne in to interview for an interim teaching position. Hal encourages Lou Anne to continue teaching when she wants to give up and continues this supportive role throughout the movie.
George Grandey - Principal of Parkmont High School. He is the type of person that follows rules and wants all of his teachers to teach exactly what the Board of Education provides for a curriculum and does not want them to add any variations to it.
Emilio Ramirez - Hispanic student who is the ring leader of the class. Comes from a broken home and is poor. Always involved in violence which prohibits him from showing his true gifted potential.
Raul Sanchero - Hispanic student who is always involved in owing someone money. Comes from home with a mother and father and many siblings. He will possibly be the first person in his family to graduate from high school. Raul is one of the brightest students in the class but is afraid to show it.
Callie Roberts - African-American student who works at night to help save money to move out of her home where she lives with her Mom. She is pregnant and thinks she has thrown away her future. She is convinced that the best thing to do now is to go to a different school (recommended by the office staff at Parkmont) so she will learn more about how to take care of a child.
