{"id":140,"date":"2014-08-20T11:46:14","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T15:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/?page_id=140"},"modified":"2025-07-31T22:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T02:43:07","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The SMILE Program is an after school academic enrichment program for students in fourth through twelfth grades. The purpose of The SMILE Program is to increase the numbers of Rhode Island students who graduate high school well-prepared to enter higher education and pursue careers in science, technology,&nbsp;engineering, and math (STEM).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"620\" height=\"390\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ie_aoDZOwt8\" frameborder=\"0\" 0=\"allowfullscreen\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\"><\/iframe>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><br>How We Make a Difference<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The program functions as a pipeline. Students can join as early as the fourth grade and continue through the twelfth grade, finally going to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a year round schedule of activities designed to provide and integrate university and real world experiences, mentoring, learning activities, and career explorations to support students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/stairs.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"544\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/Group-591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4422\" style=\"width:449px;height:318px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/Group-591.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/Group-591-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/Group-591-364x258.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/Group-591-500x354.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>History<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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 500 elementary, middle, and high school students and 45 teachers in 7 districts in Rhode Island &#8211; and we&#8217;re still growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> <span style=\"font-size: 20px\">Central Falls<\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Johnston<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Newport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"font-size: 20px\">South Kingstown<\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"font-size: 20px\">West Warwick<\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <span style=\"font-size: 20px\">Woonsocket<\/span> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Westerly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"713\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-1024x713.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5269\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.3364485981308412;width:356px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-1024x713.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-768x535.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-1536x1070.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-2048x1426.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-364x253.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-500x348.jpg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-1000x696.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-1280x891.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-2000x1393.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/910\/EFD-2025-scaled.jpg 2560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Since its founding in 1994, over 5,200 students have participated in The SMILE Program.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since 1998, SMILE graduates have attended 379 different colleges and universities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The high school graduation rate for students who participated in SMILE for one or more years is between 90% and 100%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>527 SMILE alumni have enrolled at URI between 1998 and 2018, and 86% pursued STEM majors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>100% of the students in SMILE for more than 7 years went to college.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>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 2:1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The SMILE Program is an after school academic enrichment program for students in fourth through twelfth grades. The purpose of The SMILE Program is to increase the numbers of Rhode Island students who graduate high school well-prepared to enter higher education and pursue careers in science, technology,&nbsp;engineering, and math (STEM). How We Make a Difference [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1338,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-140","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5274,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140\/revisions\/5274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/smile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}