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Last May, Jacob Shaul logged onto his computer and began remotely teaching more than 170 students in Bolivia the basics of programming languages, like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. He and another instructor even showed the students how to build their own websites. 

This was the largest class Shaul had taught since he started Mode to Code as a passion project while he was a sophomore at San Francisco University High School. In 2025 alone, Shaul and his team of 15 high school volunteer instructors taught 1,000 students in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bolivia, Botswana, Canada, El Salvador, India, Italy and Jamaica, with class sizes averaging about 5 to 25 students.  

Shaul believes the lessons Mode to Code offers, both in-person and online, stand out because the instructors are interacting with students every step of the way.

鈥淲hile students might learn quite a lot from watching a video and then doing problems after, there’s a difference between having a teacher that’s right there teaching it to you,鈥� said Shaul. 鈥淸Students] can ask us questions and interact with us.鈥� 

A coding class comes to life聽

Shaul launched Mode to Code to introduce computer programming to middle schoolers. He had taken a programming class in sixth grade at the private Live Oak School in San Francisco and wanted to share his passion for it with other students.

鈥淚 wasn’t sure if there were middle schools around San Francisco that had the same opportunity that I did in a private school, so I did a little research, and I was very surprised to see that there was an extreme paucity of coding education, computer science education and technology education in general,鈥� said Shaul. 

But when he reached out to school administrators, they either didn鈥檛 respond or turned him down. 鈥淚 had to learn grit and persistence, and both improved with practice,鈥� recalled Shaul.

His lucky break came when he met with Live Oak鈥檚 after-school director, who gave Shaul a shot at running his own program. 鈥淭he first class had around 10 students and lasted six weeks (longer than our usual four-week program now), allowing me to try a variety of lessons and subjects to see what worked,鈥� said Shaul. 

Bolstered by the experience at Live Oak, Shaul was able to convince several area schools, including the Chinese American International School, Presidio Middle School, Presidio Hill School and Everett Middle School, to let him offer similar programs. 

As Mode to Code gained momentum, Shaul developed a curriculum with the help of a former dean, trained volunteer instructors and connected online with other schools and educational organizations that work with underserved youth around the globe.

鈥淚 knew that there were thousands of students who could benefit from our program and I wanted to see if it was possible,鈥� said Shaul. 

Jessica Sankey, a computer science teacher at Shelburne Community School in Vermont, was the first teacher to express interest in Shaul鈥檚 online classes. 

鈥淪he was immensely helpful and gave me confidence to teach,鈥� recalled Shaul. 

That experience allowed him to fine tune his teaching methods and accommodate for issues that pop up while instructing online. For instance, he had to get used to asking students to come up to the computer screen to show their code and ask questions. 

Shaul then decided to offer his online classes to American schools in other countries.

鈥淲e try to find American schools in other countries that speak English, but also have volunteers who speak other languages, such as Spanish,鈥� says Shaul.

The first international students he taught were in India. But juggling school and teaching classes halfway across the globe proved to be challenging. 

鈥淚 would teach classes during breaks in the school day, during lunch, or wake up early. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to teach classes in Botswana, and spent my lunch teaching a class in Canada,鈥� said Shaul. 

Educating future computer scientists and programmers

Mode to Code now partners with 30 institutions, including , which offers tuition-free after-school and summer programs, and , a nonprofit aimed at getting children to embrace the sciences.

鈥淭hese institutions help us reach new students from under-resourced backgrounds, allowing us to educate future computer scientists and programmers,鈥� said Shaul. 

鈥淥ur goal is to always be free for all the students, which means that since we don’t really have any money and aren鈥檛 making it from anywhere, the teachers are all high school volunteers.鈥� 

Last March, the Mode to Code team began teaching senior citizens the basics of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the internet at eight senior centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including and . 

鈥淭he catalyst was reading about how large the scamming industry has grown, especially when targeting more vulnerable elders,鈥� Shaul recalled.

In August, Shaul will be starting his freshman year at the University of California, Berkeley, where he plans to major in computer science. Ultimately, he wants to become a software engineer so he can develop technology that will help people.

鈥淭echnology is how you scale solutions to problems and create products that impact millions of people. No other industry is able to do that in the same way,鈥� he said.

Even though he鈥檚 starting his next chapter, Shaul wants Mode to Code to live on. He鈥檚 training underclassmen at his high school so Mode to Code can continue offering its in-person and online programs to middle school students and assisted living residents around the Bay Area and beyond.

鈥淥ne of the biggest things about Mode to Code, is that it’s run entirely by high schoolers, who are interested in giving back to the people around them. We’re very lucky to have the resources that we have, and we want to give it back to the people around us,鈥� he said. 

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