It's been said that remarriage is "the triumph of hope over experience."

Maybe because—like many of you—I have spent the better part of my life in or around school, my mind automatically visualizes September as the start of a new calendar year, full of promise and possibilities.

Recently, Gina Warner, President and CEO, National Afterschool Association, spoke as part of the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Symposium and touched on what it means to be an afterschool professional in the midst of a global pandemic.

NAA's fifth Let's Talk the Future of Afterschool, held July 1, 2020, welcomed Ann Tancioco, Executive Director of Kids' Country.

"In these unprecedented times ..."

I don't know about you, but I have had more than a few emails lately that opened with that line.

During a recent web conference with the Grantmakers for Education OST Funders Network, National AfterSchool Association President & CEO Gina Warner and Isabelle Mussard, leader of NAA's California State Affiliate, provided an update on the work being done in the afterschool field during the uncertain time of COVID-19.

Research suggests structured, strengths-based afterschool programs that are coordinated with schools and communities and staffed with knowledgeable and competent adults are ideal settings to promote positive experiences and youth social and emotional development.

To outdo yourself generally means to do something exceptional or superb—especially in relation to past efforts.

Part of my job at NAA is to communicate the importance of quality.

Part of my job at NAA is to communicate the importance of quality.