CodeNow

Gain the skills to build apps, do well in college, and get internships.

If you're searching for a beginner-friendly program to learn how to code, welcome home.

"CodeNow opened my eyes to different careers I can choose and how much work people put into video games and certain websites. Even for apps I use on my phone every day."

Angela Studies CS in College

"CodeNow opened countless doors for me. They helped me solidify my career path. I'm more sure of my ambitions in technology and combined my love for Computer Science (CS) and fashion!"

Wilfried Got a Job at GitHub

"During the program, things came together and I got really excited about coding. I did not have much of a direction until CodeNow happened."

Apply to CodeNow

Practice coding at your own pace throughout high school.

CodeNow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit teaching high school students how to solve meaningful problems through coding. Our program has four levels to introduce you to web design, coding, and how to build your own apps.

1. Level One Weekend Workshops

Over two weekends you’ll learn how to go from an idea to a full-fledged app that you and other people can actually use. By “app” we mean… type in a URL, click on a page, and see something cool and useful happen. Kind of like the apps you use everyday such as Facebook or Twitter. By the end, you’ll take home your own codebase (to brag about and show to your friends and family), and we’ll provide you with a pathway to continue building and learning how to make new projects of your own.

2. Level Two Online Learning

Once you’ve completed the workshop we won’t leave you hanging. Now it’s time for you to set the pace for how often you’d like to practice coding and learn more. We’ll provide you with guidance, mentorship, support, and the resources you’ll need to level up your skills over time and on your schedule. Once you’ve made some progress here, you’ll unlock the ability to participate in one of our hackathons.

3. Level Three Hackathons

Ever thought about being your own boss or starting your own company? This is how teenage entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg got their start. They made something they thought was interesting, useful, or fun and shared it with other people. That’s exactly what you’ll do at a CodeNow hackathon. You’ll develop a portfolio of projects and a codebase of work which will prepare you for college and future careers in tech as software engineers, web designers, and product managers.

4. Level Four Summer Competition

Rather than giving you more material to learn, our job now becomes to help you make your own ideas real! As a capstone for the CodeNow program, you will gain practical development experience through a national summer app competition. By combining all you’ve learned through the workshop, the online courses and hackathons, you’ll bring it all to the table to emerge as a successful designer, programmer, and budding entrepreneur with a portfolio of projects to show for it.

What makes CodeNow different?

There are a lot of options if you want to learn computer science principles to pass your AP exam. At CodeNow, we’ll teach you how to make apps that you and your friends can use today to do cool and interesting things (you'll also learn enough to do well in your CS classes too).

Solving meaningful problems

We believe having the motivation to build something you care about is the best way to learn. Joining CodeNow means you'll develop an interest in making the world a better place through technology, design and business.

Passion and persistence

This is our primary acceptance criteria for CodeNow. You need to be driven by a problem you want to solve or an idea you want to make real, but also have the tenacity to persist when times get tough.

Diverse collaboration

CodeNow is comprised of high schoolers who come from a variety of backgrounds, neighborhoods, and socioeconomic statuses. Our diversity and emphasis on working with others is what makes our program special.

Learning enough to take a step

Practical, applicable, hands-on learning is at the core of our teaching philosophy. You won’t find any fluff in our programs, we’ll teach you what's necessary to take the next step towards making your idea real.

As a non-profit we're supported by grants, donations, and volunteers to teach our students.

If you're not a potential student, you can still help by connecting us with a forward thinking company or foundation we should work with, introducing us to young people who are curious about tech, or volunteering for one of our upcoming workshops!

Volunteer with CodeNow

Press

CodeNow has been recognized by the White House, was selected to participate in Y Combinator’s accelerator program as part of their first batch of nonprofits, and has been featured in a number of publications, including TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal.

CodeNow: A Champion Non-Profit

- The White House

The program’s approach combines weekend sessions, online coursework, and an intensive boot camp conducted over longer school breaks.

- TechCrunch

With a CodeNow fellowship under his belt, he's considering an internship with a local gaming company before heading to college. "And if people don't take me seriously," he says, "it's just another chance to prove them wrong when I come out on top.

- The Wall Street Journal