Donna D. Blevins, the Greeneville woman who founded the Be Smart Kids Learning System, on Thursday receiving a copy of a legislative resolution commending her for “enhancing education opportunities for the children of the state, nation and the world.”
A copy of House Resolution 384 passed this spring was presented to Blevins by state Rep. Eddie Yokley, D-11th, of Greene county during a luncheon meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Greeneville. The resolution was Sponsored by Yokley and state Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville.
Reading from the resolution, Yokley said, “Donna Blevins believed that ‘if America’s children are going to compete in the world market, we are going to have to do a better job with education,’ and began working on her home computer in 1991 to create a unique educational program to combine proven teaching methods and computer-aided technology to stimulate the human brain (among young children) when learning capabilities are optimal.”
The resolution said that after its 1998 incorporation, Be Smart Kids, Inc., whose headquarters is in Greeneville “began licensing use of the system and training teachers for on-site learning centers at day-care facilities, preschools, Head Start programs and elementary schools.”
The Resolution continued, “The home edition of the electronic learning system was introduced in 2001. Today the Be Smart Kids Learning System is in use in homes worldwide, including the home of CNN host Larry King, enabling parents to harness the computer to develop their own children’s love for learning…”
Blevins later said that Be Smart Kids is being used to teach thousands of children in 35 Tennessee counties as well as in programs in Texas, New York, Georgia and Kentucky. Blevins thanked a number of people who have helped her over the years in developing of Be Smart Kids.
By Douglas Watson
Managing Editor