SMILE was established in 1994 with 20 middle school students in one school modeled after the nationally recognized Oregon State University (OSU) SMILE Program. The SMILE Program now serves about 400 elementary, middle, and high school students and 36 teachers in 6 districts in:

- Rhode Island 

- Central Falls
- North Kingstown
- Pawtucket
- South Kingstown
- West Warwick
- Woonsocket

​Impact
Since its founding in 1994, over 2,000 students have participated in URI SMILE
Since 1998, SMILE graduates have attended 88 different colleges and universities
145 SMILE alumni have enrolled at URI between 1998 and 2012 and 70% pursued STEM majors
75 SMILE alumni are currently enrolled at URI and 73% are in STEM majors
SMILE student college enrollment compared to the RI Low Income College Participation is 2:1
If a student was in SMILE for 3 or more years, the ratio of students attending college versus those who did not attend college is 4:1. If a student was in SMILE for 8-9 years, 100% of these students went to college.