Sarah Bennett

Sarah Bennett taught middle-school computer science for nine years before stepping back to raise her two kids, who are now her favorite (and toughest) test users. She started Code Compass because the coding programs she kept seeing recommended online were ranked by commission, not by whether they actually work for a real child.

For every program she signs up, runs lessons with kids across different ages, and judges it on curriculum quality, teacher quality (for live classes), how well it keeps a kid engaged, price and value, and safety and privacy. She recommends by fit, the kid's age, goals, learning style and the family budget, and she will happily point you to a free option like Scratch or Code.org when that is genuinely all you need. See exactly how we review.