The social and emotional development of our nation's youth is a common, essential concern of those working in school and out of school. This volume will be the catalyst for long overdue conversation, collaboration, and synergy. It is essential reading for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers in both contexts who are concerned with preparing children for the tests of life, and not a life of tests."" —Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. Rutgers University, Co-director Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools and After School Settings.""Having spent all of my adult life working with, and advocating for, high-quality youth programming, I understand the critical role out-of-school-time (OST) programs play in the social and emotional development of young people. As the Executive Director of the New York State Network for Youth Success, I am thrilled to see such a comprehensive view of current best practices and research on social-emotional learning (SEL) in OST programs. It is exciting and encouraging to see so much documented progress with SEL in OST condensed into one comprehensive book that furthers understanding of both research-informed practices and systems building around policy. This book, edited by two leading researchers in the field, Elizabeth Devaney and Deborah Moroney, should be required reading for any practitioners, policy makers, and educators in the field. Both the editors' and contributors' emphasis on making SEL an ""intentional practice"" is the exact conversation we all should be having right now."" —Kelly Malone Sturgis Executive Director, New York State Network for Youth Success.""Social Emotional Learning and Out-Of-School-Time: Foundations and Futures is an extremely important and timely publication. The scope and depth of this work makes it a must read for any serious out-of-school-time or K-12 educator. In 2014 California identified social emotional learning as the most promising bridge to bring coherence between expanded learning programs and the school day. (A Vision for Expanded Learning in California – Strategic Plan 2014-2016) I have found this to be the exact case. All across California, school day and out-of-school-time professionals are having deep and authentic conversations about youth centered collaborative efforts. We also know that providing social emotional development opportunities is a corner stone for any high quality out-of-school-time program. I plan to share this publication widely with K-12 educators, policy makers, parents and so many others."" —Michael Funk, Director, Expanded Learning Division, California Department of Education.