Operation SMART^SM, an outstanding equity-based program created by Girls Incorporated®, is designed to encourage every girl in science, math and relevant technology. It was developed as an informal, single-sex, center-based, hands-on math, science and technology exploration program, with a focus on equitable methods and messages. Over a four-year period, Girls Incorporated® of Rapid City developed, tested, implemented, and evaluated a similar program for use in formal, coeducational elementary school science classrooms. Following is the program development history.

• 1989 — South Dakota Office of Adult, Vocational & Technical Education awards grant to Youth & Family Services (YFS) of Rapid City to begin implementation of "SMART Opportunities."
• 1990 — The Bush Foundation awards a three-year developmental grant to YFS of Rapid City to develop, test, implement, and evaluate a program based in the Operation SMART philosophy, but for use in formal, coeducational, elementary school science classrooms in western South Dakota.
• 1993 — The Bush Foundation awards a three-year expansion, implementation, and intense evaluation grant to YFS of Rapid City, to reach a critical mass of teachers and students throughout western South Dakota.
• 1995 — The National Science Foundation awards a three-year grant to YFS of Rapid City to increase the number of western South Dakota schools and teachers participating in the program.
• 1996 — The Bush Foundation awards an eight-month planning grant to YFS for a "Teacher Training Model National Testing Project" to plan nationwide replication of the model. The creation of a business plan is the basis for this grant.
• 1996/7 — The Bush Foundation awards a four-year replication grant to YFS to assist in the replication of Teaching SMART nationwide. During this time, two national sites began to implement the Teaching SMART program. The YFS "Teacher Training Model National Testing Project" becomes Teaching SMART.
• 1998 — Final evaluation reports are completed, indicating that the Teaching SMART program has significant, positive impacts on teachers and students. These positive evaluation results are the impetus for the national publicity the program has since received, such as the 1997 Washington Post article and the 1999 CBS Sunday Morning segment.
• 1999 — The National Science Foundation awards a grant to YFS to fund six national sites. These sites are located in New Orleans, LA; Atlanta, GA; Bay City, MI; Fairmont, WV; Green Valley, AZ; and Imperial Beach, CA. In addition, the Albertson's Foundation awards a grant to New Plymouth, ID, to implement Teaching SMART.
• 2001 — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards a grant to YFS to fund six additional sites at the local and national level. These sites are located in: north central South Dakota schools; rural Sioux Falls, South Dakota schools; Clearwater, KS; Rochester, MN; and St. George, SC. The Bush Foundation supplementary grant is assisting in funding the two South Dakota sites. In addition, The Bush Foundation is fully funding a site involving Shannon County schools on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
• 2004 — The National Science Foundation awards a supplemental grant to the University of South Florida to implement and evaluate Teaching SMART at Pizzo Elementary with the School District of Hillsborough County in Tampa, Florida.
• 2005 — The U.S. Department of Education awards a grant to University of South Florida to implement and evaluate Teaching SMART at the Pasco County School District in Land O’Lakes, Florida.