In 1989, Jeannie Jung started the Reading and Writing Center in two Sunday School rooms, and soon after opened the first official Reading and Writing Center in Annandale, VA. Jeannie created exercises based on books to strengthen students’ reading and writing skills and offered individualized tutoring and feedback sessions. Through word of mouth among the community and local schools, the center gained many trusting parents with eager students.

Over the following several years, the unique approach Jeannie developed spread through mail-based programs. As the Internet became an increasingly reliable and ubiquitous medium in the early 1990s, Jeannie invested in an online version of her approach which provided students with the ability to peruse a virtual library, keep track of their work, and see their teacher’s feedback. Jeannie’s investment afforded students access to the SpiderSmart approach, no matter where they lived.

As her approach continued to expand across multiple states, and even internationally, Jeannie created SpiderSmart, Inc. to support the establishment of new locations. Jeannie continued to strive to further expand the curricula and find new ways to enrich and elevate students. Her endless creativity and unique perspective led to the inception of many new courses, all with the same careful refinement and dedication to the student that makes SpiderSmart so special. Today we still offer many of these programs including Mathematics, Masterpiece Short Stories, Current Events, and SAT 100.

SpiderSmart’s expanding curriculum required building a new website that supported Jeannie’s vision of continuously enhancing the experiences of students and teachers. When the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns struck, Jeannie quickly adapted by creating an improved online Virtual program to keep students and teachers interacting in safe and effective environments. Jeannie ensured SpiderSmart’s constant development of new ways to enrich educational methods and curriculum for our students.

For Jeannie, students were always the reason. Generating curiosity and developing an independent thinker who can help create a better world is the purpose we will always strive to achieve. The combination of education and empathy is the enduring power of Jeannie’s leadership and the bond SpiderSmart will forever honor as being Jeannie’s legacy.