Questions?
Good. Here.

A free, county-wide group for Orange County middle and high schoolers who are curious about AI and already making things with it — apps, art, automations, small tools that solve a problem they care about. Students meet online, show each other what they're working on, and learn from people their own age. It's run by the Orange County Department of Education.

Middle and high school students across Orange County. Your student does not need to be a coder, a straight-A student, or an expert in anything. The one thing that matters is genuine curiosity — if they're the kind of person who pokes at a tool to see what it can do, they'll fit right in.

No. It's completely free. There's nothing to buy and no fundraising.

The Orange County Department of Education. Wes Kriesel leads the program. You can reach him directly at wkriesel@ocde.us with any question — including the ones on this page.

One hour at a time, and that's the whole commitment. Meetings run Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 PM Pacific. This fall we meet weekly from August 19 through November 4 to build toward our annual event, and after that we drop to once a month — the third Wednesday — through May.

Completely fine. There's no attendance policy, no make-up work, and nobody gets dropped for missing. Sports, jobs, family, and homework come first. Students come when they can.

None. Students are never assigned work between meetings. When they share a project, it's something they were already making on their own — not an assignment we handed them.

Our one big in-person event of the year: Friday, November 6, 2026, bringing students together from across Orange County. Everything we do this fall builds toward it. Details on location, timing, and transportation go out well in advance, and it's optional like everything else.

Meetings are held online over Zoom and are always hosted by OCDE staff. An adult from the Department is present for the entire meeting. In-person events like the November Convening are staffed and supervised by OCDE personnel.

Students interact with other Orange County students and with occasional invited guests — typically university faculty, local professionals, or program alumni. Guests are selected and vetted by OCDE staff, and every session is adult-hosted. There is no open chat platform or unmonitored space where students talk with strangers.

Only what's on the application form: name, email, phone, school and district, and a short description of what they're interested in building. We use it to organize meetings and stay in touch. We don't sell it and we don't share it outside the program. On our public materials, student information is anonymized.

Yes, and we'd encourage it. This page and the welcome page describe the whole program, and you're welcome to email Wes with any question. Parents are also welcome at the November Convening.

Close to the opposite. Students here are building things with AI — making tools, solving problems, creating — not using it to get out of schoolwork. A recurring theme in our conversations is what responsible, honest use actually looks like, and students tend to be sharper on that question than adults expect. If you have a specific worry, we'd genuinely like to hear it.

No. Some students write code, some make videos, some just have an idea and a lot of questions. The range is wide on purpose, and students learn more from each other than from us.

Three things, mostly. Practice talking about their own work in front of people — which pays off in interviews and applications for years. A peer group outside their own school who take what they're building seriously. And access to mentors, speakers, and opportunities they wouldn't otherwise hear about.

They fill out a short application form — about five minutes. We follow up by email with meeting details. There's no deadline pressure and no competitive selection process.

For online meetings, no. For in-person events like the November Convening, we'll send any needed permission or transportation forms ahead of time.

Never on demand. Sharing is invited, never required, and plenty of students spend their first few meetings just listening. When they do share, it's five minutes about something they made, in front of peers who are genuinely interested.

Wes Kriesel, wkriesel@ocde.us. Real questions from parents are welcome — including skeptical ones.