Wolverine and the X-Men # 1 (2011) focuses on Wolverine's founding of a new school, the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and the chaotic events of its first day, including an inspection by the New York Board of Education and an attack by the new Hellfire Club. The issue spins directly out of the X-Men: Schism storyline, which split the X-Men into two opposing factions.
- A New School and Mission: Following his ideological split with Cyclops, Wolverine takes a portion of the X-Men back to Westchester to reopen the X-Mansion as the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, a place where young mutants can be students rather than soldiers.
- The Inspection: Wolverine, acting as the new headmaster, and Kitty Pryde attempt to guide inspectors from the New York State Department of Education on a tour of the school's facilities to gain official accreditation. The tour is a disaster, as various bizarre and chaotic events—including encounters with a horde of extra-dimensional "Bamfs" and a sentient island monster named Krakoa—baffle and terrify the inspectors.
- The New Hellfire Club Threat: A new, pre-teen iteration of the Hellfire Club, led by the 12-year-old Kade Kilgore, introduces himself and threatens to destroy the school. The issue ends with the grounds literally coming alive as part of their attack, leaving the school's fate hanging in the balance on its very first day.
- Faculty and Students: The issue introduces the new faculty, including Beast and Iceman, and sets up dynamics with various students, like Quentin Quire, all of whom are struggling to survive the tumultuous opening day.
The issue establishes a new, more lighthearted but still action-packed tone for the series, contrasting Wolverine's new, reluctant role as an educator with his violent past.