SpiderSmart’s Founder and President, Jeannie Jung

Thirty-five years ago, I was a young mother, raising two kids. Our favorite pastime was going to the children’s section of our local library and reading children’s books.

One day, a thought came to me to develop writing assignments based on these books. I knew how difficult writing can be, being an immigrant and having gone through a Master’s Program in English. I wanted to help my children at a young age to start developing their writing skills. I started developing assignments based on the books we read together. My children, especially my daughter, who was in 2nd grade at the time, started doing the assignments I had developed.

Having accumulated about fifty assignments, I had an idea to try the program on other children. I rented a small room in our church and set up a temporary center. On the first day, eight students came.

Over the years, SpiderSmart has grown. Now, we have centers nationwide working with thousands of students.