Girls Code Savannah  began as a bold experiment in July 2023.  The challenge: Could we teach 32 middle school girls to code their own websites from a blank screen in only four days? This was pre-AI and pre-"vibe coding". There was just raw HTML, CSS, the World Wide Web, and a code editor. Most importantly,  could we help girls fall a little bit in love with tech  while doing it?

 The answer was a resounding yes.  At the time, we had no idea of the exceptional joy, growth, and community that would lie ahead.

Three years and an AI revolution later, our "experiment" has expanded to include 5th–11th grade girls (and boys!). Today, Girls Code Savannah has evolved into one of the most unique youth tech, coding, and AI educational experiences in the country.

Girls Code Savannah currently accepts  5th to 11th-grade students.  We welcome  public school and homeschool students  living in Chatham County, as well as the surrounding counties of Effingham, Bryan, Liberty, Jasper, and Beaufort.

 We welcome all genders  to attend our girl-focused camps and classes. Currently, about 10% of our students are boys.

We accept a limited number of new students  during our Spring & Fall Sessions. 

New students who attend our Spring or Fall Sessions are then eligible to attend the following Summer or Winter Camp as a Returning Student.

To  learn why our camps are for Returning Students only,  see our Camps & Classes FAQs.

Girls Code Savannah camps and classes are  100% free.  Drinks and snacks are included. During our Summer & Winter Camps lunch is also provided.

Girls Code Savannah was  intentionally launched and incubated  through a  major multi-year founding investment from our Executive Director.  By personally funding over 90% of our initial direct costs, our founder has chosen to completely de-risk and refine our dynamic program and curriculum before inviting significant outside funding & partnerships.

Our early growth has also been  championed by a vital network of local organizations and individuals.  Their valuable contributions including monetary donations, laptops, program snacks, and media coverage directly fuel our day-to-day operations. We proudly spotlight these community champions in our feature stories and within the Encouraging Words section on our Student Websites page.

And  we can't say enough about our foundational partnership  with the Live Oak Public Library system, which generously provides the physical space for all of our Girls Code Savannah camps & classes.

Our  classes,  known as Saturday Sessions, are held across Saturdays in  March & April  and again in  October & November. 

Our  Summer Camp  is in  mid‑July.  Our  Winter Camp  is in  late December. 

All camps and classes are held at the Bull Street and Southwest Chatham branches of the Live Oak Public Library system.

Our  curriculum is built to mirror a modern software development pipeline,  moving students from core fundamentals to advanced product development. We don't just teach syntax; we train our students how to think like product developers, responsibly integrate cutting-edge AI tools, and leverage technology to make a positive impact on the world.

Our comprehensive educational ecosystem covers four core areas:

 (1) Foundational Coding Languages:  Students build technical fluency by coding from scratch using industry-standard web and application languages, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and Swift.

 (2) Professional Software Development Tools:  We move students off training-wheel applications and into real-world engineering environments, training them on professional Code Editors and Integrated Development Environments (IDEs).

 (3) Modern Data Concepts & Architecture:  To understand how the modern internet scales, students explore data infrastructure, learning to build and manipulate Cloud Computing environments, Databases, APIs, and JSON structures.

 (4) Next-Generation AI Integration:  We don't view AI as a shortcut, but as a powerful tool when responsibly applied. Students learn the ethics and mechanics of artificial intelligence, gaining experience in Prompt Engineering, Large Language Models (LLMs), and advanced platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to accelerate their development workflow.

By combining these technical disciplines with a framework focused on problem-solving and social impact,  our students evolve from consumer to creator as we equip them to design and launch digital products that make a positive difference in their community and the world at large. 

Our  Spring & Fall Saturday Sessions  focus on core skill-building. 

Our  Summer & Winter Camps  shift into an immersive,  real-world tech and product development environment. 

During  Spring & Fall Saturday Sessions  new students learn  coding fundamentals  through HTML and CSS, building their first website completely from a blank screen. Returning students continue to level up, acquiring  additional tech and AI skills  by coding "byte-sized" custom projects and interactive components.

During our intensive  Summer & Winter Camps,  returning  students and instructors form one large software development team.  We divide into four specialized  sub-teams of UI/UX Coding, Data Engineering, Digital Media, and Graphic Design  to collaboratively build and launch a fully functional software application or digital product.

You can explore examples of these incredible student-team tech builds in the feature stories on our Home page.

Our Summer and Winter Camps operate as  an intensive, fast-paced accelerator  where we build and deploy software applications and digital products. Because we move quickly to achieve a specific product launch goal, it's vital that every student arrives having prior experience coding with us.

 Restricting camp enrollment to Returning Students  ensures that everyone in the room is already comfortable with our curriculum and thrives in our collaborative, tech startup-like culture. This shared experience  allows our student-based tech team to hit the ground running on day one  without needing to stop for introductory concepts.

If your child is new to Girls Code Savannah, our Spring & Fall Saturday Sessions are the perfect gateway to gain the foundational skills and confidence needed to join our future camp tech teams!

Yes.  Returning students  who attend our Summer and Winter Camps  have the unique opportunity to be financially compensated for contributing their coding, tech, and AI skills  to our active product builds. This structure is intentionally designed to give our students a real-world understanding of what it feels like to be financially rewarded for their technical expertise.

To qualify for compensation,  students must demonstrate consistent engagement in our sessions over time and showcase technical proficiency.  This model teaches them the direct connection between upskilling and economic opportunity, while simulating the experience of working as a paid contributor on a professional software development team.

Returning Students who are still early in their coding journey with us are highly encouraged to attend camp to continue growing. While they may not qualify for compensation immediately, their work at camp directly increases their skills and sets them up to earn paid roles during future camp-based product builds.

We are not seeking outside instructors at this time. Should that change, we will update this answer and provide details on how to apply.

Yes.  Students who remain active in our program over time  and demonstrate both technical mastery and strong interpersonal skills  have the opportunity to step into leadership as Assistant Instructors. 

 We are incredibly proud that several of our long-time students have recently transitioned into these roles,  working alongside our Lead Instructors to help guide Beginner Students during our Spring and Fall Saturday Sessions.

Teaching Beginner Students to code from scratch is one of the most effective ways for our advanced students to deeply solidify their own technical knowledge.

Stepping into an instructional role doesn't mean their own learning stops. Our Assistant Instructors continue to participate in our advanced curriculum, leveling up their own coding, tech, and AI skill sets outside of their teaching responsibilities.

Yes.  Girls Code Savannah thrives on a mentorship model of instruction.  From our early stages, our Executive Director personally taught and mentored new instructors on how to effectively deliver our innovative youth-focused curriculum. Today, that culture of continuous learning remains a pillar of our organization.

 New instructors receive structured mentorship both outside the classroom and in real-time  while working alongside our veteran instructors. As our long-time students transition into Assistant Instructor roles, they step directly into this proven cycle of mentorship.

For our college-aged instructors, our support extends beyond the classroom. We offer support around professional development, college internship preparation, resume building, and early-career job opportunities to help launch them successfully into the workforce.

Yes.  All of our instructor positions are paid roles,  including those for our long-time students who step into Assistant Instructor positions. We intentionally do not utilize volunteer instructors. We firmly believe that both technical proficiency and pedagogical skills are high-value assets that deserve fair, professional compensation.

This "paid-only" policy is a deliberate stand against the pervasive cultural norm where women, in particular, are frequently asked to volunteer their hard-earned professional expertise. At Girls Code Savannah, we lead by example:  we want both our students and our instructors to know their intrinsic worth  and to experience the tangible financial value of their skills in the tech marketplace.

 We occasionally offer internship opportunities to current students  seeking to develop a tech‑focused project or achieve a particular tech‑focused goal that extends beyond our usual camp & classes timeframe.