The age guidelines are our classes are flexible, so a 12 year old is more than welcome to join a class listed for 13 – 18 as long as we feel that it is a good fit. You can always call or visit us to discuss which of our classes is the best fit for your son or daughter, regardless of the age guidelines listed on our website.

Students should enroll in Python if they’ve either already taken Scratch or have good enough typing skills to begin coding. Python code is easy to learn and type, but you still must pay attention to the detail of the lines of code to make sure they are typed in an exact way. Scratch requires no typing; just drag & drop in order to form lines of code. Those are the main differences in determining which class to enroll in.

• Scratch
  • no typing
  • drag & drop
  • more visual
  • best for beginners

• Python
  • typing/hard coding
  • less visual
  • object-oriented programming language

We will gladly prorate any of our sessions to a custom length. We pride ourselves on being super flexible so for whichever days you will make the class we are glad to accommodate!
When it comes to missing out on content, it really depends on the program in which you are thinking about registering your child. In nearly all of our programs, the first half is focused on most of the actual learning and second half is more focused on lab time to work on projects, so in most cases, missing the second week will not mean that your child will miss out on most of the class. He or she may not finish as many projects as the other students but will learn pretty much all of the same material.

Because the dates for our classes are scheduled meticulously, we cannot add in any additional dates for make-up. As mentioned in the previous question, the 2nd half of the class will provide plenty of opportunity for the students to catch up on their projects and any missed material. With our small class setting, it is easier for our instructors to pay more personalized, individual attention to each student.

We understand that work and life in general make it challenging to organize pickup and drop off. You are welcome to drop students off up to a half hour before the start of the class. Because there may be other classes going on, you are welcome to have them wait in our facility until class begins.

For classrooms that are empty, students that arrive early or stay late have the freedom to use our computer labs to get ahead on their project or simply play Minecraft with their peers. We frequently have a handful of students arrive early and/or stay late, so we typically have them all sit together in one room.
As for pickup, we encourage all students to be picked up shortly after class finishes. If a student needs to stay late past our hours of operation, we may have to charge an additional late fee.

For students who take Scratch, we walk them through the process of creating a kid-friendly, safe Scratch account where all of their work will be stored and accessible from any computer via http://scratch.mit.edu.

For any 3D Printing class, similar to Scratch, we will have students create their own “TinkerCAD” accounts where all of their work will be saved and accessible from any computer. In addition to that, students will actually get to take home physical prints of what they’ve modeled to show you.

DAE flashdrives are available for purchase if students would like to save their work on them to take home. Otherwise, they may bring their own flashdrives, or save their work in their Google Drive.

All of our core staff and admin team are CPR and First Aid certified. Please feel free to leave any epi-pens or medicines at the front desk in the event it will be needed. Students may also carry it on them in class after informing our staff and instructor so that we are made aware.

While classes are in session, students may not use their cell phones at all unless it is needed for student work or an emergency. Before class, during break, and after class students are free to use their cell phones.

You are free to use cell phones in a quiet, respectable manner while waiting in our main room.

Your child may walk home or leave the facility on their own, but we will require you to fill out a permission slip beforehand. Please contact our team at info@TheDAE.com or (914) 644-8100 so that we can email you the slip.

We welcome all kids to our facility so long as they are able to use a computer and follow instruction in a small class setting. In the past we’ve had many developmentally disabled students excel in our programs. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have further inquiries about how we can accommodate your child to ensure they have a great experience in our classes.