Coding with Kids

What Coding with Kids is

Coding with Kids is a coding and technology school for children and teens, teaching through live online classes, summer camps and programs run inside schools. It is mainly a learner product, bought by parents, with a second line of business for schools that want a partner to run coding classes for them. The home page sums up the scale in four figures: "12+ years of Coding with Kids", "67,000+ students taught since 2013", "900+ school partners since 2013", and a 4.6 out of 5 customer rating from "529 reviews - past 12 months". Its stated mission is to "bring great coding programs to as many children as possible".

In-person programs run in a set of US regions: Denver/Boulder in Colorado, Washington D.C., Maryland, Portland in Oregon, Austin in Texas, Virginia, Seattle and Tacoma/Olympia in Washington. The site menu also lists Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, and the live online classes are open wherever a family has a connection.

The Coder's Ladder

The flagship program is the Coder's Ladder, for ages 5-18. The site compares it to "a martial arts belt system": the ladder "defines programming skills from beginner to advanced levels", and "Achieving Level 10 means mastering the fundamentals of software development." The levels are grouped into four stages:

• Levels 1-2, Coding Foundations. "Block-based Scratch projects build programming logic, problem-solving, and confidence." Students design, build and debug their own work.
• Level 3, Text-Based Programming. Students "move from Scratch into Python and begin building text-based projects while learning how professional developers work."
• Levels 4-6, Application Development. Larger projects "with Python, JavaScript, web development, databases, APIs, and C# in professional coding environments."
• Level 7 and up, Software Engineering. Students "design full-stack and mobile applications, use GitHub, work with cloud technologies, and collaborate through team-based development."

Progress is individual within a class. When students master a level's concepts, "they complete a project-based graduation session and move to their next step," and the FAQ refers to a graduation exam. Between classes, a Student Portal gives students "an online repository of coding exercises" to practice at home.

AI is brought in step by step. The site's line is "AI supports the work. Students own the thinking." At Levels 1-2 there are "No AI tools yet", because foundations come first. At Level 3, AI helps "answer questions, explain errors, and support debugging." At Levels 4-6 it supports "debugging, testing, documentation, and selected coding tasks", and from Level 7 it becomes "part of a disciplined workflow for planning, review, testing, and delivery."

Class formats and prices

The Coder's Ladder runs in two formats, both priced per 4 weeks on the Coder's Ladder page:

• Small-group classes, marked "Most popular": a maximum of 6 students, 75 minutes weekly, "Personalized progress in the group", at $138 per 4 weeks.
• Private classes, marked "Most personalized": one student and one instructor, 50 minutes weekly, with a "Reserved teacher, day, and time", at $250 per 4 weeks. These are "For children who benefit from one-to-one pacing, specific goals, or greater schedule flexibility."

Online classes are taught over live video. To keep the experience close to an in-person class, the online programs page says the company keeps "the class sizes small" and uses break-out rooms, which "allow teachers to chat with their students individually and even take over their code, should they need assistance with debugging." Enrollment in the online premium classes "is open year-round and students are welcome to join at any age or experience level."

The same pricing page lists the other online options. Live online camps run "One week, Mon-Fri, 1 to 3 hrs/day", starting at $219 for 2.5 hours a day and $269 for 3 hours a day, during school breaks. Live online enrichment classes, offered during the school year, meet once a week for an hour or an hour and a half, starting at $139 for a 6-week session and $239 for a 10-week session. Camp topics include Minecraft mods, Roblox games and 3D game development in Unity.

Camps and Tech Pathways

Camps and school programs follow a second curriculum, Tech Pathways. Summer camps are "Intensive week-long adventures" in person or live online, covering "Engineering, Robotics, Python, Game Design, Minecraft Modding, and more!" The company describes both tracks as built on "Skills First, Tools Second": "We teach coding and technology skills first, then introduce languages and tools appropriate for each student's age and experience level."

For schools

Schools can bring Coding with Kids onto campus for grades K-12, either as after-school enrichment, as integrated classes during the school day, or as summer and school-break camps. There are two delivery models: "In-person", where an instructor comes to the school, and "Virtual+", where "A live virtual instructor partners with an onsite staff member." The offer is described as "Turnkey Education", with the company handling "registration and scheduling to instructor support, technology, and parent communication." The schools page says each instructor has a computer science background.

The site lists specific partnerships. It has run after-school coding classes at "over 600 partner schools since 2014", taught middle school coding classes at Seattle Country Day School, and taught the AP Computer Science courses at the Bear Creek School in Redmond, Washington, from 2015 to 2026. A testimonial from Bear Creek says of one instructor, "He is kind, caring and flexible. He meets the needs of all his students regardless of skill level."

Quality and policies

On instructors, the home page says "We carefully select, train and coach our instructors using classroom observations and family feedback." It promises "Satisfaction guaranteed" and asks families to get in touch if a class is "anything less than fabulous". The FAQ's cancellation policy says that if a class is canceled for low enrollment, the company will try to move the student to a comparable class, and otherwise "a credit or full refund will be provided." The site lists recognition from NBC's TODAY Show, Parenting OC Magazine (best coding class and best tech camp) and NW Kids Magazine (best STEM camp).

Who it suits

Coding with Kids suits a family that wants a long, structured path rather than a one-off course: a five year old can start on Scratch at Level 1, and a teen can reach full-stack apps, GitHub and team projects at Level 7 and beyond. The small-group class at $138 per 4 weeks fits a child who likes working with peers, and the private class at $250 per 4 weeks fits one who needs a set time, a set teacher or individual goals. Families can try a week-long camp first and then move onto the ladder.

Schools without their own computer science teacher get a practical option in the Virtual+ model or an in-person instructor, with registration and parent communication handled for them. In-person classes are limited to the listed regions, so families elsewhere will be choosing between the live online formats.