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Coding Classes, AI & Robotics for Kids in San Francisco and San Francisco - Richmond

251 Clement St,

Corner of Clement and 4th

(415)592-8421 • sf-richmond@thecoderschool.com

Hey Parents! We’re so excited you’re checking out ways to get your kids coding. Learning to code builds critical thinking skills that aren’t just for future computer programmers—they’re for anyone who wants to thrive in tomorrow's AI-centric world. That’s why we’re bringing Silicon Valley’s first nationwide kids coding program right here to your neighborhood.

At theCoderSchool, we teach kids to think logically, explain their ideas, and problem-solve creatively—not just rely on AI for easy answers. Our Code Coaches help kids turn their big ideas into real tech projects, all while having a ton of fun.

Curious? Fill out the form and we’ll be in touch soon. Don’t let your child miss out on skills that could spark their future!

Looking for the best coding school for kids near San Francisco, CA? theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond provides personalized coding classes, AI education, robotics, game development, Python, Scratch, and summer camps for students ages 7–18. Families from Daly City, Westborough, and Pacifica choose us for individualized instruction with experienced Code Coaches.

Our Philosophy

Looking for coding or AI lessons for kids in San Francisco - Richmond, CA? We're here to help. We believe every kid is different, so we teach them accordingly with custom projects built to suit each student. We believe coding isn't just about building the project, but about consistent problem solving and understanding technology fundamentals, from how the internet works to what makes up Artificial Intelligence.

Our Programs

Our coding school's flagship after-school program, Code Coaching, combines a super-small 2:1 teaching ratio with individualized curriculum. Although Code Coaching works for novice to advanced coders, we also offer entry-level classes for those looking for a more traditional class in a larger ratio, as well as @school classes and our ever popular coding camps.

Our System

We're part of a nationwide system of over 70 locations around the country, teaching over 7,000 students every week with the brainpower of 1000+ expert Code Coaches®. Headquartered and founded in Silicon Valley since 2014, we're proud of the impact theCoderSchool has had on communities everywhere. Find out more about Who We Are in our brand video .

Why Code When There's AI?

At theCoderSchool, we love AI. It's transforming the future of software — and it's exactly why we believe every kid should learn to code, now more than ever. Read more or download our AI One-Pager to see how we think about Artificial Intelligence.

Coding is Logical Thinking

Coding isn't just about technology — it's a workout for critical and logical thinking. It's uniquely built around solving problem after problem to achieve a goal. This means students build skills that pay off in school, careers, and everyday life — especially in the age of AI.

Software Jobs Will Grow

Yes, AI can code — and it's made building software faster and cheaper than ever. But faster and cheaper doesn't kill demand; it explodes it. Retail, services, food, and even tech will all need much more software and therefore many more people who can build it.

The Roots of Technology

AI lets everyone build software, but the best builders will understand coding. Like a surgeon who must master biology or a pilot who must understand aerodynamics, tomorrow's technologists need deep roots before they can branch out — and those roots start with code.

Our Coding Camps

From AI to bots, web development to games, we got it all. Our camps stick to a low ratio of around 6:1 and are taught by our expert Code Coaches.

Upcoming Events and Programs

Back To School FREE Workshops

Welcome back to school. We are offering a series of FREE 50 minutes workshops. Sign up below!!

Scratch Game Design - Our FREE Scratch Game Design Workshop uses drag 'n drop blocks to allow beginner students to get coding quickly and easily. We'll create a fun graphical game that they can play at the end of workshop. Recommend Ages: 8-10.

Python - Our FREE Python Workshop gives beginner students a basic intro to a real-life, widely used coding language. We'll create a word game or probability game that they can play at the end of workshop. Recommended Ages: 10-12.

Back To School FREE Workshops continue...

Welcome back to school. We are offering a series of FREE 50 minutes workshops. Sign up below!!

Art Class Series: 3D Modeling

12 weekly sessions for $399

8/25-11/19
Please send an email to Allen if you have any questions.

Digital Arts Studio: 3D Modeling Art Class Series

Have you ever wanted to design your own furniture or spaceship model? Create your ideal superhero or imaginary animal and turn them into an animated cartoon? Develop a personalized symphony using digital tools? We are pleased to launch our first after-school class as part of our new Digital Arts Studio! Digital Arts Studio is a new program for the next generation of budding artists and creatives to focus on digital design using cutting edge tools. Flex your creative skills as no coding is needed for Digital Arts Studio. For this inaugural small-group class, students will learn the foundations of 3D graphics using Blender, a 3D computer graphics software toolset. From that foundation, they’ll add color and depth and move progressively to more complex shapes and designs – trees, snow people, pizzas, houses, and so on. Bring your best creative visions and ideas and learn how to make them a digital reality!
Recommended Ages: 10-13

Code Class Series: Python

12 weekly sessions for $399

8/25-11/19
Please send an email to Allen if you have any questions.

Python Code Class Series

The AI era is here! Python is now more popular than ever in real-world applications, such as artificial intelligence and data science. This class is for students with no prior coding experience or just learning how to type on a keyboard. Students will use a Python platform to explore fundamental concepts, develop general problem solving skills, and enhance logical thinking skills. Then it will dive into fun projects that engage creative thinking and more coding. Students will learn Python syntax (loops, variables, line structure, etc), function calls, Cartesian Coordinates, and more!
Recommended Ages: 10-13

Code Class Series: Scratch Game Design

12 weekly sessions for $399

8/25-11/19
Please send an email to Allen if you have any questions.

Scratch Game Design Code Class Series

Don’t just play games, make them! Our popular game design class teaches creative coding in a fun way using MIT’s popular “Scratch” platform. Scratch uses drag ‘n drop blocks that allow students to assemble their code quickly and get to the fun part - making games, playing them, and unleashing their imagination and creative instincts! Game design is a fun way to engage problem solving skills and learn computer science fundamentals like loops, conditionals, and variables. In addition, students develop and apply math concepts including coordinate geometry, negative numbers, angles and boolean logic.
Recommended Ages: 8-10

NOW HIRING!

Do you enjoy teaching and watching kids' eyes light up? Are you a decent competent coder? Our social and immersive method is a great way to get our next generation ready while being able to have fun with technology yourself. Apply today!

Please send an email with your resume to Allen

Congratulation Shreya!

We are delighted to share that Nancy Pelosi named one of our students, Shreya Aghi, winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in our district, California’s 11th District!

Shreya is an 8th grader in San Francisco and has been with the Coder School for 4 years. Her winning app, Teen Tobacco Termination, was mission driven: to inform teenagers and their loved ones about the dangers of smoking and vaping, and how to get the help they need. To teachers who are reading this, this app is just what you need to do a lesson for your teen students on the health risks from tobacco use!

Shreya describes: “I was inspired to create Teen Tobacco Termination through my work with BACR (Bay Area Community Resources), focusing on tobacco cessation among teenagers. As I have witnessed peers in middle school being drawn into their first cigarette or vape, I recognized the significance of the issue. Vaping and smoking are increasingly concerning among adolescents, and it’s crucial to inform them about the risks before they get involved.”

Teen Tobacco Termination includes an info page with visual data and expert statistics, interactive images, quizzes to test the user on the info page content, and resources for getting help or getting involved. Shreya created her app in Visual Studio Code and Repl using Python, a language she was already familiar with. She employed the PySimple GUI library to add elements such as buttons, text, images, and graphs to create a structured layout for the user. She also utilized the Pillow library so she could change properties of images, and the web browser library to add links to external resources.

Congratulation Shreya! (continue)

Coach Edward, who guided Shreya through her journey to victory, applauded her maturity and focus. “Because her background was pretty strong, doing something of this magnitude was easier. I think because frankly she’s very mature already, it meant I could easily give her parts of the project to work on, on her own, without needing to worry about checking up on her every week.” At the outset, Coach Edward encouraged her to write out the entire idea of what she’d like to do, without worrying about what’s possible, so they could decide on the core features she wanted then weed out the less feasible things. Because Shreya already had a strong foundation in Python, much of Coach Edward’s instruction was helping her deploy her knowledge in new ways. How do we make the graphic interactive? How do we get the carousel up and running? How do we get the GUI up and going? How do we get the screens set up? In addition, they worked on writing efficient and clean code with better algorithms that wouldn’t slow the system. “It was fantastic working with her and it’s still fantastic working with her, especially seeing how much she’s grown over the past couple of years.”

For Coach Edward, that’s one of his favorite parts of teaching – witnessing his students’ development. He reflects with amusement on other students of his who are moving a lot faster now. “I saw you when you were here three years ago when you were a lot younger and you didn’t even know how to type on a computer, and now, here we are!”

Congrats to Shreya and Coach Edward. We of course can’t wait to see what they do next!

Coder Game Winner Serena

1st in SF and 4th Nationally.

Serena, 7th grader at Proof School. Serena has been with us since January 2021.

- I first got interested in coding when I was introduced to programming robots to follow an obstacle course in school.
- I enjoy using processing and Python turtle to create different drawings.
- I like to play tennis and listen to music in my free time.
- If I could code AI to do anything, I would code it to create a system for driverless cars.

Coder Game Winner Jax

1st in SF and 4th Nationally.

Jax, 7th grader at San Francisco Day School. Jax has been with us since August 2022.

- I first got interested in coding when I went to a coder school camp.
- I really love the feeling when I accomplish a task that I had previously struggled with, whether it is creating a game or making a school project. I really enjoy making a working system in code and doing things I couldn't otherwise.
- I like playing basketball, and playing tennis with my sister.
- I would code it to read and translate my handwriting into text. My handwriting is terrible.

Coder Game Winner Adrian

2nd in SF, 11th Nationally.

Adrian, 9th grader at San Francisco University High School. Adrian has been with us since November 2021.

- I first got interested in coding in 3rd grade when we had a teacher introduce Python turtle to us. I spent hours playing around with it!
- I enjoy the problem solving aspect of coding. There are always many ways to solve a coding challenge, and each way has a different logical answer.
- I like watching and playing sports. I play baseball for my high school team. I love to take my dog out to the park or for nice walks.
- I would code AI to create recipes and help cook in order to make it more fun and to allow you to try new things.

Coder Game Winner Caitlin

3rd in SF, 12th Nationally.

Caitlin, 11th grader at Raoul Wallenberg High School. Caitlin has been with us since June 2019.

- After attending one of the Coder School summer camps, I was amazed at all the possibilities that coding opened up and I wanted to learn more.
- I enjoy solving problems and creating useful applications. I also like how there are many ways you can approach a problem, which allows for a lot of unique solutions.
- When I’m not coding, I like playing badminton and hanging out with friends :)
- I would code an AI to help study for tests and exams that would be tailored to each user’s learning styles.

Meet Coach Nic!

Coach Nic fondly remembers his dad bringing home a “Frankenstein PC” with Windows 97 and then playing a Toy Story 3D game on his dad’s lap. Not only was this fun for Nic, it got him interested in technology and learning about the integration of art and music into video games. And so began his technology journey into coding.

Coach Nic particularly enjoyed his computer science classes at SF State that emphasized building from the ground up. Nic’s Java classes where they built the compiler first, then the games from scratch were some of his favorites. One of Coach Nic’s favorite things about his coding journey is the empowerment of solo creation and community he found with like-minded developers and creative artists. He recalls learning about independent developers like Lucas Pope who made Papers, Please all by himself. Another favorite, Stardew Valley, was also created by a solo developer who did all the art, programming, and music. They inspired him in how they created so many interesting experiences, all on their own. In Coach Nic’s words, "Something else I really like about programming is it’s an avenue to create this nexus for all of my interests to meet and mingle - cool thing about games that they’re multifaceted. For someone like me who’s tangentially interested in different things, it’s a nice way to bring everything together in one package."

Meet Coach Nic! (continue)

Music is a passion for Coach Nic. He laughs about how he has a “bunch of pianos” in his room and speaks glowingly about the fellow musicians he enjoys playing with. “I really like jazz and I play a lot of music and make games, too. And play them too.” Coach Nic has especially enjoyed the community he’s found through coding, gaming, and music. He's been working on a rhythm game for a couple of months with a team of 4 friends who have particular skills and interests – 3D modeling, design, concept art. Stay tuned for what emerges. Think of how fun it could be to play a hip hop rhythm game kind of like Guitar Hero!

Exemplifying the best of us, Coach Nic has further found joy in sharing his knowledge and creating community for the next generation. He talks enthusiastically about how teaching keeps him learning, and how learning makes it even more fun to teach. “I realized the value of having a community of people around you if you’re interested in something, and how important and impactful that can be. So I’ve always really loved sharing things I know with other people and learning from them as well.” For Coach Nic, it’s fun to be able to tap into that beginner’s mindset where everything is new and fun. "The excitement rubs off on you -- fun to share my enthusiasm and have some of those older fires reignited."

Creative coding is at the heart of our teaching approach at The Coder School San Francisco, and Coach Nic is the epitome of what we’re all about. We are so fortunate to have Coach Nic as part of our team. He is one of our Coaching rockstars responsible for guiding and mentoring the next generation of creative coders. We look forward to many more years of working with Coach Nic!

Meet Coach Ivy!

At the Coder School San Francisco, we love teaching coding. We also love celebrating our students, coaches, and staff who are such an important part of our community.

Coach Ivy is both a student and Code Coach. Ivy joined us for our first summer camp in 2017 after finishing 6th grade at Denman. She took all of Allen’s whiteboards to organize and plan her text based adventure game. (Allen laughs when remembering how he looked everywhere for the missing whiteboards.)

“That game was one of the first projects that really stuck with me – didn’t feel like an assignment, more like a piece of art.” -- Coach Ivy

After summer camp, Ivy joined our Code Coaching program as a student. Her first teacher was Coach Natalie, who taught her the importance of collaboration. While Ivy was at first a bit nervous about our pairs approach, where we have two students with one Code Coach, she became good friends with her pairs partner Ethan. Ivy and Ethan are still friends, which is part of what makes us happy about our community – having more students get to know others with similar interests and stay in touch. She also credits Natalie and Ethan for teaching her about the joys of teamwork, mentorship, and of course, readable code.

Ivy joined us as a summer camp counselor for 2017 and part of 2018. With all her experience as a student and enthusiasm and leadership as a counselor, we were thrilled that Ivy joined us as a teacher last fall after shadowing Coach Jason over the summer.

Coach Ivy enjoys teaching Scratch in particular and has observed that among the benefits of learning coding as a kid, beyond active coding itself, is that you learn to do math and you learn to spell. Fundamentals in a fun way.

Coach Ivy is now a junior in high school who leads her robotics club. She still enjoys learning advanced coding while teaching the next generation how to code text adventures.

Meet Coach Ivy! (continue)

What’s next for Coach Ivy?
“I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that making video games is a viable career. In my heart, it seems like too much of a pipe dream.

I definitely think I’m going to keep coding forever. It’s one of the best outlets for me to be creative. Even if I’m not in a field using it professionally, I will still make stuff for me for fun regardless of whether there are financial benefits.”

Our hunch is that Coach Ivy will realize her dream and do many great things in addition to her teaching and creating. We’ll be behind her all the way!

“I think people should see code as more of an art than they do.” -- Coach Ivy

Congrats to our amazing coaches

for winning several awards in the inaugural Repl.it Game Jam Game Design Contest.

Best Individual Game: CryptoStory: Isekai, Action Adventure game using Phaser CE by Coach Jason Huang

Best Team Game: Zanderian Prince Simulator 2020 by Coaches Jacky Chen, Dakota Madden-Fong, Nicolas Graves, Michael Tran

Be sure to read Repl.it’s Developer Spotlight interview with Nico, Dakota, Michael, and Jackie! "We're a small group of co-workers at the Coder School San Francisco, we're instructors and teach programming to kids and use repl.it all the time for lessons and instruction with students.”

Learn more about games that our coaches built below:

Our Testimonials

"My son loves the coder school - their camps and their after school classes - the teachers and the owners are awesome. We will be long time clients. "
Kate L., San Francisco
"My 8-year-old son just finished a week of camp there, and I think he'd move in if he could! He had a great experience there, and seems to have a learned a lot. The staff was excellent - they really seemed to connect with kids, and were enthusiastic about introducing coding concepts to them. They were always available to answer questions and talk a bit about what my son had worked on during the day. We'll definitely be back next summer, or may check out their after school programs this fall. "
Michelle S., San Francisco
"You've taught me logic as way of thinking and being patient. You're complicated and intricate especially Python 3. However I love making you work and I love all the challenges that you throw at me. If you think about where everything is going, coding is the future in terms of AI and everyday technology. "
Bradley C., San Francisco
"My son enjoys working with Carolyn. Allen does a great job making people feel welcome at Coder School."
Jamie F., San Francisco
"Owners, manager Allen, and instructors (Max) in SF West Portal are involved and very encouraging to our two boys. Both loved summer camps and weekly group instruction tailored to their interests and abilities. "
Jeff L., San Francisco

Hey parents, love our school? Give us a review!

Congressional Partners

Each year, theCoderSchool partners with the Congressional App Challenge (CAC), a nationwide coding contest run by districts of the U.S. Congress. Some of our students have won this prestigious prize, met their U.S. Congressperson, and even flown to DC for the winners event. We also run CAC Top Apps, a program that, in partnership with CAC, awards the best submissions at the National level out of the congressional district level winners.

School Info

251 Clement St
Corner of Clement and 4th
(415)592-8421
sf-richmond@thecoderschool.com
Monday: 3:00 – 7:00 PM
Tuesday: 3:00 – 7:00 PM
Wednesday: 1:00 – 7:00 PM
Thursday: 3:00 – 7:00 PM
Friday: 3:00 – 7:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Meet Our Owner and GM

Hi there! My name is Allen and I’m the Owner and General Manager of the Coder School San Francisco. I am excited to bring the Coder School to the San Francisco bay area when I was born and raised. My Bachelor’s degree is in Finance and I am a proud alum of San Francisco State University. I remember my first experience with a computer: arguing with my older brother over who could play the original Starcraft game first. It took a week to finally get a chance to play, but I was instantly obsessed with gaming, computers, and technology. Making technology more accessible to children is the biggest reason why we’re opening the Coder School San Francisco. I can’t wait to meet all of you and to help shape the future of your little technologist.

And the Other Owner!

Hi all! My name is Lee Hsu. I’m a co-owner at the Coder School San Francisco. As an EdTech consultant and teacher, I’ve designed technology curricula and taught computer skills, digital citizenship, and coding to over 1,000 students in San Francisco schools. I've seen firsthand through my work and teaching that high-quality coding instruction is critical for jobs of the future. And, I know from my time studying at the University of Texas and at Stanford University that education must keep pace with modern trends to prepare kids to be future technologists, creative professionals, and leaders in every industry. We have a wonderful team here at the Coder School San Francisco. I look forward to being part of your child's learning and coding journey.

Meet Our Code Coaches® Too!

We've got plenty of Coaches, and tons of Comp Sci experience tucked inside! Who's the best Coach for you? I guess you'll have to come on in for a free trial to find out!

We're always looking for great Code Coaches. Shoot us an email with resumé to see if we're a fit!

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Coding School for Kids in San Francisco

Families searching for coding classes in San Francisco often compare several local programs. theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond serves many San Francisco families because it combines individualized instruction with year-round coding education, AI, robotics, game development, and computer science coaching. Corner of Clement and 4th We offer programs for beginners through advanced students.

Why Families in San Francisco Choose theCoderSchool

Personalized 2:1 coding instruction
AI and computer science curriculum
Scratch, Python, Java, JavaScript and more
Robotics and engineering projects
Game development using Roblox and Minecraft
Year-round after-school programs
Summer coding camps
Free introductory session
Programs for beginners through advanced students

Best For

theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond is ideal for:

Kids interested in coding for the first time
Students wanting to learn Python
Future software engineers
Roblox game developers and Minecraft modders
Robotics enthusiasts
AI and machine learning beginners
Gifted students needing individualized pacing
Homeschool STEM education
Summer enrichment

Programs at a Glance

Program	Ages	Best For
Code Coaching	7–18	Personalized learning
Code Camps	7–16	School breaks
AI Fundamentals	10+	AI literacy
Robotics	8+	Engineering
Scratch	7–10	Beginners
Python	10+	Intermediate
Java	12+	Advanced
Roblox	8+	Game development

Coding Languages and Technologies Kids Learn

Scratch
Python
Java
JavaScript
HTML & CSS
Roblox Studio
Minecraft Modding
AI Fundamentals
Robotics Programming
App and Web Development

Families We Serve

We regularly work with students from:

San Francisco - Richmond and Daly City
Westborough and Pacifica

How theCoderSchool Compares to Other Coding Schools Near San Francisco

Feature	theCoderSchool
Personalized coaching	✓
AI education	✓
Robotics	✓
Scratch, Python, and Java	✓
Web development	✓
Summer camps	✓
Year-round coaching	✓
Beginner through advanced	✓

Near San Francisco and San Francisco - Richmond

Corner of Clement and 4th Book a free intro session or explore our approach to AI and coding.

Common Questions About Coding Classes Near San Francisco

How can coding help kids?

Many folks might think learning to code is so kids can actually code an app. Honestly, that's not usually the case! Coding real-life apps is tough. Despite what the media says, your kid is not writing some million dollar app by themselves in a month. Instead, coding helps kid *solve problems*. Coding is all about debugging and logically thinking through the fix. Breaking a large problem into smaller parts, logical sequencing, these are all important problem solving skills for any kid (or adult!). A second benefit is confidence and passion in technology. There's plenty of time for kids to learn the latest real tech (which changes all the time), but the time to build passion for technology (and a foundational knowledge base) is when they're young!

Do you teach Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Learning AI comes in many flavors, and we teach them all. In our view, learning AI is separated into:

Using AI - Integrate AI models into custom code, including Scratch for our younger coders.
Understanding AI - Explore how AI works under the covers structurally
Refining Coding Skills - AI is all code and data, so it's important to be a proficient coder before learning even more
Coding with AI - Our proficient coders can use AI extensions to help code much faster
Building AI - Our most advanced coders may be able to dig into the details of how AI is built

Come in and chat with us to find out whether learning AI is right for your child.

Do kids still need to code with AI on the horizon?

Emphatically YES! More than ever, AI will be the great equalizer, making everyone's skillset pretty similar. This is why instead of moving away from coding, kids should learn the critical thinking and logic skills of coding now. Using that with AI will be the powerful combination skillset that will set kids up for a successful future. Find out more reasons in an article by our CEO.

What is the best coding language to learn as a beginner?

The truth is, Scratch is amazing for a beginner at ANY AGE. If someone is truly a beginner, a platform like Scratch can allow them to create and engage much more quickly. Older kids (say 11 and up) can soon move to a language like Python or Javascript. Just remember that it takes a LOT MORE work to get Python/Javascript to do the same thing as Scratch - so the kids will need some patience. No matter what anyone tells you please DO NOT start learning with Java or C++! Those languages are too advanced to start with, and we've seen it too often - kids will give up because it's so hard! Definition of backfiring!

What is the best age to start coding?

It depends - we think the best age is the age they want to do it! Listen, there's plenty of time to *really* learn to code - there's a reason Comp Sci is a really tough college degree. The important thing in the younger years is to bring out the desire and passion to learn more - that's why at theCoderSchool we customize our projects based on the student's interests and really focus on engagement before learning.

How do I get accepted into a college computer science program?

These days, top colleges are incredibly selective. Learning to code by itself probably won't help you stand out enough. Instead, consider building a unique Coder Story. Can we help? Sure can!

What are the benefits of kids learning to code?

Children of all ages can benefit from learning coding skills, and students who get hands-on experience with computer programming go on to excel in other subjects Coding helps students gain computer proficiency and build real-world problem-solving skills. Exploring technology is essential for computer literacy. Building fundamental coding skills encourages creativity, promotes teamwork, and enhances spatial intelligence and logical thinking skills. Kids of all ages can learn computer science. For teenagers, learning how to code leads to the development of transferable skills that can be applied in future careers or workplaces. If your student is interested in data science or machine learning, a self-paced course in computer programming can help pave their path.

As you and your family consider coding programs, it helps to keep in mind:

The age of the student (we can teach kids as young as six)
Their individual interests (such as Lego, Roblox, robotics, video game design, or artificial intelligence)
Any previous hands-on experience with coding (even exposure to mobile apps or playing with Minecraft counts)
Preferred learning style (we offer both flexible and structured curricula and support self-paced learning)
Social skills (some students learn best in one-on-one lessons, while others favor teamwork)

Whether the student wants to explore Minecraft modding in Minecraft camp, is interested in HTML, or wants to learn block-based coding like CSS, our interactive classes provide a great coding experience.

Can a 6 year old do coding?

Sure! Kids this young are just developing their sense of logic. While some advanced 6 year olds are ready to dive into learning Scratch, many are better off with fun learning apps like Kodable or Scratch Jr..

How do kids learn to code?

Same way adults do! The best way to learn something is to just DO it. It's not about all the theory and fancy words, it's about just doing it over and over again. If you're a parent with a college degree, think back. How much of that theoretical curriculum did you really use in your job? Or did you really learn your job by DOING your job? It's the same with kids, we'll mentor and guide them, but most importantly, we'll get them to code something custom that they want to code!

Where is the best place to learn coding for kids?

We're a little bit biased, but we think it's theCoderSchool! There's no better way to learn anything, including coding, than just doing it with a mentor to guide you. Online or in person, our Code Coaches will give you that low-ratio full attention that every kid deserves!

What is the best coding school near San Francisco?

Families near San Francisco often look for small-group instruction, a clear path from beginner to advanced, and programs that cover AI and robotics—not just games. theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond offers personalized 2:1 Code Coaching for ages 7–18, plus after-school classes and summer camps. Students learn Scratch, Python, Roblox, JavaScript, and more with Code Coaches who customize projects to each child's interests.

Where can kids learn Python near San Francisco?

Kids near San Francisco can learn Python at theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond. Python is typically a great next step after Scratch for students around age 10 and up. Our Code Coaches introduce Python through projects students care about—games, data, AI tools, and automation—so they build real skills while staying engaged. Beginners are welcome; we meet each student at their level.

Are there coding camps near San Francisco?

Yes. theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond runs coding camps throughout the year for school breaks and summer, serving San Francisco , Daly City, Westborough, and Pacifica, nearby communities. Camps keep a low coach-to-student ratio and cover topics like AI, robotics, game development, Minecraft, and web coding. Browse upcoming camps on our local camps schedule or the full camps page.

What age should kids start coding?

Most kids thrive starting around ages 7–8, when they can follow multi-step projects and stay curious about how things work—though readiness matters more than an exact birthday. At theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond we teach students ages 7–18, from first-time Scratch builders to teens diving into Python, Java, and AI. Younger kids who are eager can often start with playful, visual tools; older beginners jump in with age-appropriate projects.

Does theCoderSchool teach AI?

Yes. At theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond, AI is part of how we prepare kids for the future of technology. Students learn to use AI tools thoughtfully, understand how models work at a high level, and strengthen the coding fundamentals that make AI useful. Read more in our AI and coding article, or ask about AI during a free intro session.

Do you teach Roblox coding?

Yes. Kids at our San Francisco - Richmond location can learn Roblox Studio and Lua-based game development as part of Code Coaching and camps. Coaches help with scripting, game design, and problem-solving so kids go beyond dragging assets and understand how their games work. Ages often start around 8+, depending on reading and focus.

Can beginners learn coding at theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond?

Absolutely. Most of our San Francisco-area students start with little or no coding experience. We begin with engaging tools like Scratch, then progress to Python, web languages, robotics, or Roblox based on interest. With a 2:1 coaching ratio, beginners get the attention they need without feeling lost in a large class. A free introductory session is the easiest way to see if it's a fit.

Do you offer after-school coding classes?

Yes. Year-round after-school Code Coaching is our flagship program at theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond. Sessions use a small 2:1 teacher-to-student ratio with individualized curriculum. We also offer camps and special workshops. Check our hours under School Info on this page, or contact us to find a time.

Do you offer summer camps?

Yes. Summer coding camps at theCoderSchool San Francisco - Richmond are a popular option for San Francisco-area families looking for STEM enrichment. Themes rotate across AI, robotics, game design, and more. See current offerings in our camp schedule and sign up before popular weeks fill.

How is theCoderSchool different from other coding schools?

theCoderSchool focuses on personalized Code Coaching with a 2:1 ratio, so progress is tailored to each student rather than a one-size-fits-all syllabus. We emphasize problem-solving and real projects across Scratch, Python, AI, robotics, and game development, with year-round coaching plus camps. Our San Francisco - Richmond school serves San Francisco and nearby communities with in-person instruction and experienced coaches.

Read about Private+Semi-Private Coaching, Coding Classes, Robotics, Python, Scratch, or Video Game Coding
or check out our student blogs or even our coding school comparison chart. Confused about how AI will affect coding? See why the AI future still needs coding.

What is theCoderSchool? We are an after-school drop-off (and virtual) program for kids learning to code - a coding school! There's after-school kung fu. There's after-school music lessons, sports, art, tutoring, Chinese, you name it, it's out there. But coding classes for kids? Founded in 2013, we're the first of many, and the largest in Silicon Valley with more locations on the way around the country. The future will be ever more dependent on technology so let's get our young generation ready. Learn to Code, Change the World®.

Got a question? Email us at sf-richmond@thecoderschool.com!

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