What? Another blog so soon? Yeah, we can’t publish this thing with just a single lame post, can we? As I’m writing this, my 11-yo son is playing Overwatch online, and there’s some other kid playing that’s squealing like a pig somewhere in the world, with his headset and mic. The graphics are insane, and I’m feeling like I’m an Overwatcher (whatever that means). Kinda funny, but really reminds me how far coding has come since I first started coding in middle school. I seem to remember a little bit of BASIC, an Atari 800, and coding my first pixel-based Paint app. MAN, I was proud of that app!
Anyway, I digress. Why are we blogging? Well, for SEO of course! You can’t say we’re not all about transparency here. SEO, for those who haven’t heard, stands for Search Engine Optimization, and is basically the question of “how do I rank higher when someone searches for me?”. And so while we definitely hope to entertain and inform you, our main purpose is a little more self-serving (some may say nefarious!)!
We recently hooked up with some awesome folks at newmedia, an SEO consultancy, and just had our first meeting where they were going to tell us all the ways we could get our page ranking up in Google. After paying them a big chunk of money, I was expecting some sweet revelations about what we could edit and click here and there and presto, up goes our Google page rank! Well, turns out it doesn’t work that way. We were ranking decently well it turned out, and turns out lots of people are searching for learning to code, coding for kids, or kids coding schools. (see how I did that? I put in some sweet key words to this blog so Google can find me better!). But the biggest output after tossing them a few G’s? We need to write blogs!
“Wait! That takes WORK, doesn’t it?”, I asked. “Wait, don’t people usually just outsource this stuff?”, I continued. “Wait, engineers like me aren’t good at writing, are we?”, I complained. Rhetorical questions aside, we had a good logical-thinking contest between Wayne and I, and came up with the answer – we needed to suck it up and blog like a mother.
Part of the awesomeness of this business is that Wayne and I meet up once a week at some sunny outdoors place in the Bay Area, and catch up on status of our respective parts. Wayne talks coding curriculum and operations, and I talk school franchising and learning strategy. Yeah, there’s a lot of business involved. But you can bet two best friends who used to be in a punk-pop band together are talking other crazy (i.e., inappropriate!) stories too. Can you imagine having a fun low-stress weekly meeting with your best friend for work that you love? It’s the most kick-butt experience ever.
We decided this blog would be the PERFECT opportunity for us to document all the stupid ideas, funny stories, and lessons learned we’ve had while teaching thousands of kids to program a computer in some way. We can look back fondly when we’re on our death bed and go “Remember that time you farted at the IFA conference right before that VP came up to you and shook your hand?”. And while we’re at it, hopefully we’ll get some better SEO too! So you ready to find out more about starting a coding school? About how we teach kids to love computers and programming? Of course you are. Read on.
Ready to be part of the movement to get kids coding? From computer science majors at top universities to industry veterans at companies like Netflix or Apple, we’re always on the lookout for great coders to coach our students. Are you looking for an amazing, rewarding experience? Do you have some coding chops? Then maybe you have a Code Coach® inside you. Check out our 
Our Tech Talks aren’t directly related to heads down coding but instead focus on higher level topics like how the internet works, Internet Safety (required for all our students), or just understanding technology at a high level. From quantum computing to map directions, students can be exposed to these technologies, learning how they shape our lives. Tech Talks are less about the detailed coding, and more about understanding high-level concepts.
From robots to mini-computers, having a physical, tangible product is bound to engage kids at all levels. With platforms like 
Algorithms form the basis of all coding, and in a nutshell are basically the logical processes that a computer follows to perform a task. Basic algorithms are everywhere, starting with our students’ first program that repeats a loop 10 times. More complex algorithms are like logic puzzles, and can be tough for even the most seasoned coders. While algorithms are in all projects we create, we may also use algorithm-specific tools like 
Can you believe the first iPhone was released by Steve Jobs in 2007? A few short years later, almost everyone has a smartphone. Our Mobile Branch teaches kids how to create and design apps and websites for the phone. Technologies used may include 
Artificial Intelligence is all the rage these days. The technology behind
While we’ve never believed that static curriculums are a good way to learn computer science, some folks just need straight tutoring help for their AP Comp Sci course. Usually reserved for high school students taking (or soon taking) AP Comp Sci, our AP Tutor branch consists of tutoring our students straight down the line with the standard AP Comp Sci curriculum, typically in Java. Our AP Tutor branch is best taught in our private 1:1 Code Coaching® program.
As many professional coders know, data is what runs the world these days. From Google to Wikipedia, from maps to shopping, it’s the data underneath that supports all this technology. Programming in data manipulation is just like it sounds – lots of numbers! Because of that, this branch tends to target more advanced kids who aren’t afraid of a lot of math, numbers, and algorithmic coding. We may teach data in any language from Python to Scratch, and for more advanced kids, we may move into SQL databases.
Ever wonder how they make those 3D platform games? Well, it ain’t easy! Our 3D Games Branch will expose kids to the basics of programming in 3D with platforms like 
Games are for everyone! Whether we’re talking battle games, social games, or platform games, our Code Coaches® can help students create something fun and playable. Gaming+ covers a wide range of skill levels, from easy games in Scratch to harder games using platforms like 
Everything runs on the web these days, so website development has become a crucial (and useful) skill. Our students use Javascript, HTML, and CSS to create their own webpages, which can be hosted on our servers. While our more novice students begin with straight forward web pages, our advanced Web Dev students might make dynamic websites, using databases or server-side components like PHP or node.js. Our platform of choice depends on our staff, but might range from simple tools like 
Like any skill, coding requires a strong foundation. The roots of our Coder Tree® provide the core logic and fundamental coding skills upon which all coding is built. While much of our Foundation is taught by creating projects in