Felipe Yang was surprised to find that La Cañada Flintridge didn’t have a Code Ninjas of its own and jumped on the opportunity. Now, as the owner, he has opened its doors to kids.
“Everyone here that I’ve met just values education so much, so I felt it would be a perfect opportunity,” said Yang. “I was surprised there wasn’t a location already to be honest because all the other highly-rated school districts have one.”
Code Ninjas is a program that not only teaches children the basics of coding but also equips them with skills needed for problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork.
“The kids in the future have to be comfortable with a wide range of tools, to not only thrive, but to even compete in the regular workplace,” he said.
Yang explains the skill of coding in a metaphor.
“In California, a lot of people take Spanish as a second language just because there’s a huge Hispanic population and it is beneficial to communicating with a community,” said Yang. “In the future, coding will become almost a default second language as well. Whether you are a programmer or not, it doesn’t matter because it will assist people in whatever field you’re in.”
Originally from Brazil, Yang wishes he had this kind of program growing up but was glad that his son got the opportunity to try it out.
“I wish this was around 20 years ago when I was growing up, because I would have loved to build video games as a kid for my school curriculum,” said Yang. “As soon as I walked into the Code Ninjas location in San Marino, I immediately thought, ‘Wow, they really put a lot of thought into this.’”
When on the hunt to find a new business opportunity, Yang found Code Ninjas and said it was the perfect balance of his interests: technology, education and fun.
Children are usually put into groups based on their age; one group will hold kids ages 5 through 7 while another group will hold kids 8 to 14. The students usually work on STEM activities and exercises, such as working on little circuits, while others work on visual explanations of coding.
“We want to make sure that [it is not viewed as] school, but as a very highly advanced technological educational experience, where kids not only look forward to come, but they don’t want to leave, and they want to stay longer.”
To add to the fun, Code Ninjas also has a way to show students that they are moving up in their skills with bracelets signifying belts that one would get in martial arts. Participants can move through the eight colors of bands to end up as a “black belt.”
“It’s kind of like actual martial arts where some kids will be a white belt for a long time,” said Yang. “I’d say on average, it can take anywhere from beginning to end, like three to five years. It also depends highly on the age they start because the spectrum is wide.”
Yang said that a child’s commitment to the program is also another factor to determine how they will move through the bands.
Although he said that he has seen similar programs like Code Ninjas before, there is a clear difference.
“I think they all have their own strengths, but I think we have the best model in terms of being very well rounded, in terms of incorporating the learning element with the fun element with the technological element, and the people element,” he said.
Another thing that makes them stand out is the presence of instructors by the side of the kids, ready to assist when needed.
“Our instructors are here to kind of be guides, assisting them along the way so that they don’t feel alone, because there’s a lot of online platforms that people can rely on to try to train on their own, but we find that kids, especially during COVID, had difficulty learning virtually.”
To learn more about Code Ninjas and what they have to offer, visit codeninjas.com/ca-la-canada or visit the new location at 2222 Foothill Blvd.
First published in the July 20 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
