West County, MO

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Welcome to theCoderSchool

West County, MO

157 Lamp and Lantern Village, Chesterfield, MO 63017
Near Clayton and 141
Map • (636)220-3002 • westcounty@thecoderschool.com

Hey super-parent! We're happy you're looking for options to get your kids learning to code. It's SUCH an amazing skill to learn and will help your kids in more ways than you can imagine! We're super excited to be bringing Silicon Valley's #1 kids coding program to the area to help your kids get going, so read on and let's get our kids coding!

At theCoderSchool, we want to do more than just teach coding. We want aspiring coders to use their new found passion as a stepping stone to thinking outside the box, as a way to channel their ideas in a creative way and most importantly, to have fun. Interested? Fill out our form and we'll be in touch shortly to tell you more!

Watch our video on Who We Are

Code Coaching®

Code Coaching® is our core philosophy, and what our school is all about! We believe that every student is different, and that kids should learn in the way that works best for each child. How? Our Code Coaches® - they're the magic sauce! Unlike some coding schools, we don't just leave the kids in front of a computer, expecting the software to teach them how to code. Nor do we force all kids to go through the same curriculum or projects, regardless of their skills and interests. Instead, our Code Coaches® customize their lessons for each child, and focus on a 2 on 1 mentee-mentor relationship with our kids so our students can get the focused attention they need.

Code Coaching® works for kids of all ages and skill levels, from novice to advanced. From game development to web apps, Python to Java, or even niche technologies like AI and beyond, our Coaches can help your kids achieve their goals.

Sessions run one or two hours a week (your choice), at the same time every week on a schedule that works for both you and our assigned Coach. Check out our video for more info!

Coding Lessons for Kids in West County, MO

Coding takes practice, and we believe getting kids to code consistently throughout the year is the only way they'll really learn to code. theCoderSchool has a staff of hundreds of Code Coaches all around the country, so we know a thing or two about mentoring students in computer science. That's why our after-school coding classes for kids revolve around this relationship, providing a long-term mentor in a Code Coach to teach kids to code, from someone who's an expert coder themselves. Learning how to code takes practice and patience, but there are countless benefits. At theCoderSchool, we’re committed to introducing coding concepts to bolster critical thinking skills and support student success. Our coding programs help kids learn about game development, animations, and teach them the fundamentals of syntax. Conveniently located in the Parkway and Ladue school districts, theCoderSchool West County is west of the St. Louis metro area on the border of Chesterfield and Town and Country. Our award-winning coaches include participants from the national Congressional App Challenge and the author of Supergirls Code. Elementary, middle school, and high school students thrive when they learn coding from these web development pros. The best coding teachers also provide students with long-term mentorships and the support they need to become great programmers.

Programs at theCoderSchool

Code Coaching®

Our core program for all levels.
Find out more here.

Our coding school's flagship after-school program, Code Coaching®, combines a super-small 2:1 teaching ratio with individualized curriculum so kids are able to move at their own pace, doing things that interest them most. While Code Coaching is our premium program, we also offer a more traditional Code Class for those looking for either software-driven or static-curriculum teaching in a larger ratio. And during summer and holiday breaks, we offer Coding Camps. When available, programs are offered in both in-person and virtual formats. Contact us to find out more and get a free trial today.

theCoderSchool System

We're part of a nationwide system of passionate owners in over 60 locations around the country, teaching over 6,500 students every week with the brainpower of 1000+ expert Code Coaches®. We're proud of the impact theCoderSchool has had on communities everywhere since our brand was founded way back in August of 2014. In short, we know a thing or two about teaching kids to code - so let's get to it!

Get your Kids Started with Coding at theCoderSchool

theCoderSchool helps kids learn how to think like coders. We're proud of our positive impact on the West County and St. Louis areas and are passionate about introducing students of all ages to the world of coding. We serve the areas from Clarkson Valley to Eureka and beyond. Whether your student is just starting out and wants to learn Scratch or is experienced and ready to explore complex coding languages such as Python programming, HTML, or JavaScript, our programs are designed to help them succeed. We offer in-person lessons as well as a virtual learning environment. Courses are available in groups to foster team-building skills and also in a one-on-one environment, where students can get personalized instruction. Our courses and camps are available across the U.S. Get in touch if you have any questions about our coding courses.

What Kids Learn

Find Out What
Kids Learn

We believe that every student learns in his or her own way, not only in what they want to work on, but how fast and how much. Our Coder Tree® is a visualization of our students' learning options as they grow and a sampling of some of the topics we teach. Find more details about what kids are learning by checking out our Coder Tree®.

Tracking Progress

See Sample
Student Portal

Our suite of proprietary tools* chart weekly progress by tracking concepts and apps, and longer term progress by identifying skills to build their individual Coder Tree®. Get an idea of our progress tools by clicking through a Sample Student's Student Portal to see for yourself.

* Used by participating locations, check your location for availability

Apps We Build

Congressional App Challenge

Each year, theCoderSchool partners with the Congressional App Challenge, a nationwide coding contest run by districts of the U.S. Congress. Take a look at some recent winners, or ask about our App Gallery to see more apps!

2022 Winner - Pleasanton CA
Interactive mental health website
2022 Winner - Henderson NV
Scheduling software for busy high schoolers
2022 Winner - Yorba Linda CA
Website+game to educate on carbon footprint
2021 Winner - Sarasota FL
Help health care workers with code blue
2021 Winner - Buffalo NY
Chat room with built-in AI
2021 Winner - Folsom CA
Gem collection game in Python
2021 Winner - Syosset NY
Education resource for all communities
2020 Winner - Buffalo NY
Drone/AI social distance detection
2020 Winner - St Louis MO
Teen job/volunteer matching
2020 Winner - Folsom CA
3D Max Game in HTML
2020 Winner - Las Vegas NV
Note taking for online learning
2020 Winner - Buffalo, NY
Help make food decisions for health
2020 Winner - Syosset NY
Distribute restaurant leftovers

Summer Camps 2023

Let's get ready for summer camps! Our Summer Camps will be a mix of a week-long coding project, mini lessons, coding challenges, Kahoot! quizzes, tech talks, interactive games, screen-free breaks and of course, the chance to present their projects on the last day of camp! Our camps run from 9:00am-3:00pm Mon-Fri. Late pick-up ends at 4:00 pm.

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! $25 off camps!

Please email charu@thecoderschool.com or you can call at 636-220-3002 to chat!

(Looking for more details? You can also read more about our main camps.)

Week	Format	Camp	Ages	Price
6/05-6/09	Full Day (In-Person)	Game Development We'll be using cool drag n' drop languages like Scratch to create some cool new and classic games! Aimed at our newbie and novice coders! Ages 8-10	Ages 8-10	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)
6/12-6/16	Full Day (In-Person)	Python Startup We don't have a pet snake for our schools, so we'll settle for introducing you to Python, one of the most popular coding languages today. Start slowly or code fast, this camp is for our intermediate coders-no Python experience necessary! Ages 10+	Ages 10+	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)
6/19-6/23	Full Day (In-Person)	Minecraft Biome Minecraft has taken the world over by surprise since it debuted in 2009. This camp combines the fun of Minecraft with teaching kids to code at the same time. Playing Minecraft is fun, but building, creating, and modifying your Minecraft agents and worlds through coding is a skill that can help our younger generation in any field they choose to pursue. Tell your Minecraft fan to get their Creepers and Magma Cubes ready for this camp! Ages 8+	Ages 8+	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)
6/26-6/30	Full Day (In-Person)	WebRox Everything's about the web these days, and that's why Web Rocks! Code with all the base web technologies like HTML/CSS and Javascript, learn how the internet and file transfers work, and get your pages uploaded to our servers for public viewing! Novice or intermediate coders. Ages 10+	Ages 10+	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)
7/24-7/28	Full Day (In-Person)	Python Startup We don't have a pet snake for our schools, so we'll settle for introducing you to Python, one of the most popular coding languages today. Start slowly or code fast, this camp is for our intermediate coders-no Python experience necessary! Ages 10+	Ages 10+	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)
7/31-08/04	Full Day (In-Person)	Game Development We'll be using cool drag n' drop languages like Scratch to create some cool new and classic games! Aimed at our newbie and novice coders! Ages 8-10	Ages 8-10	~~$349~~ $324 (Use the discount code CODECAMP2023 at checkout)

Parent Testimonials

"My 9-year-old daughter started taking coding lessons before the pandemic. She has been able to continue weekly lessons virtually without missing a beat. She loves working with [the coach] and has had lots of fun while working hard on creating a game." - Kim H.

"To give you an idea of how much he is liking it ...he told me this morning that the whole online camp day felt like only an hour yesterday because it was so much fun."
- Hisham R.

"What you have brought [here] is simply amazing! Your coaches are fantastic and I couldn't ask for a better learning environment for my son to do his thing and expand his knowledge!" - Bonnie D.

"My son was really getting into things! It was neat to see him and his reactions as the coaches helped him along. The coaches are great at working with students virtually." - Lyndsey M.

"Staff is great. They have managed to turn my son's technology obsession into a creative (instead of just observing you tube videos) outlet. Now instead of just watching videos or playing games...he is creating his games." - Russell H.

"Excellent staff, reasonable prices, and most important they make it fun for kids to learn coding. My son is always excited to go back and work on his game." - Mathew J.

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

School Info

157 Lamp and Lantern Village, Chesterfield, MO 63017
Near Clayton and 141
(636)220-3002
westcounty@thecoderschool.com
Monday: 3:30 – 8:00 PM
Tuesday: 3:30 – 8:00 PM
Wednesday: 3:30 – 8:00 PM
Thursday: 3:30 – 8:00 PM
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 10:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday: Closed

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Our Schools

Meet Our Owner and GM

Charu Katyal

Hi, I am Charu Katyal and I am the General Manager and co-owner at The Coder School. Most of my work experience has been in HR and IT recruitment, and my volunteer experience is primarily in the realm of education whether it is causes that support underprivileged kids or volunteering at my daughter’s school. These arenas that are seemingly separate, blend together in The Coder School mission which is: to teach children coding in a fun, nurturing environment. Truly an intermeshing of education and HRD which can be summed up as, "Kids learning happily!" That they are, because the teaching is customized and paced according to a child’s strengths and interests.

In today's STEM focused environment, The Coder School is a perfect fit. When kids learn programming they hone many skills-logic, precision, reasoning, problem-solving, persistence and much, much more as they evolve into creative out-of-the-box thinkers. Our school lights a spark that is limited to not only coding, but one that carries over to math and science and beyond. So many of us assume we are not good in math, and it is my passion that children not borrow the same script. When kids learn to code they are learning math and science too as they organize data, break it down into smaller components, analyze, use math expressions and algorithms as they advance forward. For all of this to happen, the building block is an environment which is conducive to experimenting and taking risks. Welcome to a new experience...The Coder School! Please contact me at charu@thecoderschool.com.

Meet Our Co-Owner

Kathy Kilo-Peterson

My name is Kathy Kilo Peterson and I am co-owner of The Coder School, Chesterfield/Town & Country. I am a parent that is passionate about enriching the lives of children. My business partner, Charu Katyal, will be running the school on a daily basis. I will be in the background helping with community outreach. I am super excited to bring The Coder School to St. Louis. We have such a rich connection to the Founders, Hansel Lynn and Wayne Teng. Both are Silicon Valley guys that attended Washington University, returned to Silicon Valley, met and founded The Coder School. They are just as excited as we are to bring this approach of learning technology to St. Louis. What I love about teaching kids to code, is that they learn logical thinking and math while having a blast. The ability to code is a skill every child should have. The philosophy of the Coder School intertwines technology learning, critical thinking and presentation skills. These skillsets will continue to become increasingly important for our children. Feel free to contact me directly at kathy@thecoderschool.com

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

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!

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.

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!

Does coding require reading?

It definitely requires a little bit of reading and comprehension. Even coding with blocks requires some reading, albeit not as much. More importantly when kids move on to typed languages like Python or Javascript - they have to know how to type! If they can't type, coding typed languages is more than frustrating, often causing kids to quit.

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 coding programs are available in West County, MO?

Our coding school’s classes and camps engage and excite learners of all ages. After-school programs in West County focus on individualized curriculum. Our 2:1 teaching ratio allows us to provide focused assistance and lets the kids move at their own pace. Kids have an easier time learning how to code if they’re doing activities that pique their interest. Our after-school teachers are dedicated to introducing coding in an exciting way. We also offer traditional in-person or online coding classes for students and week-long camps for a more immersive experience.

What coding classes and camps are available in West County, MO?

At theCoderSchool, coding classes are available year-round for students looking for either software-driven or static-curriculum teaching in a larger ratio. Students often work together on challenges, and teamwork can make it easier for many students to grasp new coding languages. We also offer summer camps and programs during school breaks. These coding camps are offered both in-person and as online classes.

Private+Semi-Private Coaching

Virtual Learning

Video Game 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 for kids? We're among 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 westcounty@thecoderschool.com!

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