{"id":453,"date":"2026-05-25T17:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2026-05-25T17:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:01:09","slug":"how-video-game-coding-is-helping-middle-schoolers-on-san-antonios-south-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=453","title":{"rendered":"How video game coding is helping middle schoolers on San Antonio\u2019s South Side"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sofia Gover used to think coding was for people who were older, smarter or more \u201ctechy\u201d than her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But with trial and error, she says learning to code opened a door she didn\u2019t even know was there for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough coding I learned patience. Not the easy kind but the real kind \u2026 I learned that mistakes are not the end,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gover is an eighth-grader at Zamora Middle School in South San Antonio Independent School District. These were lines from a reflection essay she wrote after being part of Vision Coders for a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vision Coders is a program created by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) that introduces coding classes to underserved middle schools across school districts in the southern region of San Antonio.<\/p>\n

IDRA, a local nonprofit that promotes equal education opportunities in public schools, launched Vision Coders to meet the need for \u201cquality\u201d science, technology, engineering and math education on the South Side.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Thursday, tech savvy kids from Edgewood ISD, Harlandale ISD and South San Antonio ISD gathered at Palo Alto College to showcase a year\u2019s worth of work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As part of the program, Vision Coders take video game coding classes as an elective during the school day and create digital portfolios for an end-of-year showcase where they get to meet coders from other schools and flaunt their skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the showcase, students huddled over screens in a college computer lab, playing each other\u2019s games, talking about their process and typing furiously on keyboards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSTEM programming can be very expensive,\u201d said Stephanie Garcia, a STEM education specialist at IDRA. \u201cBut it is a critical need, we know that in the future these tech careers are going to be in high demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on their own landscape analysis of the region a few years ago, IDRA found that only 1% of Latinos \u201cwere engaged\u201d with tech careers in that part of town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why IDRA went out for a five-year federal\u00a0Education, Innovation and Research grant, which is specifically for the creation of programs that prove they can improve achievement for high-needs students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zamora, Brentwood, Kingsborough and Dwight middle schools \u2014 present during the May 21 video game showcase \u2014 all have student populations that are over 80% economically disadvantaged, according to state data.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amounting to roughly $4 million over the five years, the EIR grant is set to expire this year, and IDRA will have to find funding elsewhere to keep Vision Coders going.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Garcia said most districts have told her they can\u2019t afford to keep the program on their own, since most are in the process of cutting budgets to keep up with rising costs and flat public school funding from the state.<\/p>\n

IDRA hopes local STEM employers see the program\u2019s value and decide to invest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vision Coders reaches Hot Wells Middle School in San Antonio ISD, and the program serves 100 students overall.\u00a0As part of the program, teachers are trained and mentored throughout the year, and students in the course often show growth in math achievement, which is how IDRA measures the program\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether IDRA finds more funding or not, the program would likely disappear at Brentwood Middle School. Because the school has gotten consecutive failing ratings from the state, Edgewood ISD is handing control of Brentwood to an outside group called Third Future Schools starting this summer.<\/p>\n

Oscar T. Galdeano has been a teacher at Edgewood ISD for over 30 years, and he teaches the coding class at Brentwood Middle School.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be moving on to a different campus next school year and recently found out he\u2019ll be getting a pay bump under the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which increases teacher pay based on effectiveness and campus demographics.<\/p>\n

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If IDRA finds financial support, Vision Coders could move to a different Edgewood campus too.<\/p>\n

\u2018Meaningful\u2019 video games<\/h4>\n

One game screen reads in big green letters: \u201cMy friend Gunner said Kendrick Lamar is the best singer.\u201d A small unicorn then prompts the player with a question:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is my friend\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a reading comprehension game meant for young elementary students. The game\u2019s creator, Marianna Alvarado, is an eighth grader at Zamora Middle School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vision Coders is all about teaching kids to code in a \u201cmeaningful way,\u201d said Garcia.<\/p>\n

Students learn how to build video games using platforms like Scratch and Code.org. They start by working with a few basic templates, but work their way up to writing java script.<\/p>\n

Games are designed to support early learning in reading comprehension, basic math skills, writing and even bilingual education. As part of the program, Vision Coders are paired with elementary school \u201cbuddies\u201d to mentor, and the younger students play the games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students in the program don\u2019t choose or elect Vision Coders on their own. IDRA works with school counselors to specifically target students at-risk of dropping out, using state indicators like attendance rates, disciplinary histories and academics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to position [students] as school leaders and give them this opportunity to increase school belonging,\u201d Garcia said. It also tees students up to start thinking about college and careers at an earlier age.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to talk about that, starting now in middle school,\u201d Garcia explained. \u201cWe can\u2019t wait till high school \u2014 it\u2019d be too late a lot of times.\u201d<\/p>\n

A place for creativity, growth<\/h4>\n

Xzavier Ibarra is an eighth grader at Kingsborough Middle School in Harlandale ISD, and his favorite part of Vision Coders is \u201cseeing how my buddy reacts to my games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ibarra said he\u2019s often struggled with stuttering, but coding boosted his confidence since he\u2019s expected to present his projects with other students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually really proud of myself,\u201d Ibarra said, remembering how he felt after creating his first game. Titled \u201cAbout Me,\u201d the game prompts players to type in responses to questions like \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite color?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ibarra thinks he\u2019ll probably be an electrician, like his dad, but he wants to keep coding and he\u2019s starting to think about college.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ariana Ramirez hand-drew the animations featured in several of her video games. She also attends Kingsborough, and plans to enroll at STEM Early College High School in Harlandale ISD after completing eighth grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really fun, and you can make it your own,\u201d Ramirez said about coding. She was scrolling through her digital portfolio, which included a floppy bird style game she was especially proud of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part is like trying to make sure there\u2019s like no glitches or like no mistakes added into it,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Ramirez, the best part of Vision Coders was the ability to combine two passions: gaming and art. Someday, she said she would like to teach coding to her own students.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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