Alternative schools are vital spaces for students who are not successful in traditional schools. The knowledge of social and emotional learning (SEL) and the impact it has on students who attend alternative schools specifically is limited. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of success that explicit SEL programs have in meeting the needs of students who attend alternative high schools who are considered at-risk for dropping out and have low graduation rates. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive single case study was to explore the perceptions of educational stakeholders regarding the implementation of SEL programs and how they met the needs of students at-risk of dropping out of one alternative high school in western Washington state. The theoretical framework of social learning theory and the model of reciprocal determinism were used to frame this study. Eleven educational stakeholders, including one administrator, three counselors, two paraprofessionals, and five teachers, participated in this study. Each participant partook in an individual semi structured interview and five of the participants (three teachers and two counselors) also agreed to participate in one follow up group interview. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were sent to participants for member checking and were then coded using inductive thematic analysis. Four themes, relation based social and emotional learning, perceived student needs, fostering student success, and additional supports needed, were used to answer the two research questions. These results indicated a need to build relationships to personalize content for students, students in this alternative school needed supports in all five pillars of social and emotional learning, cultivating a safe and caring culture leads to student success, and work is still needed to find the balance between supporting and enabling students. Future research should include more schools to gain a more comprehensive view of social and emotional learning in alternative schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]