Young boy playing iCivics game on computer

iCivics

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Model & Strategy

Spearheaded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in 2009, iCivics develops new and innovative approaches to civic education. iCivics’ game-centered curriculum provides middle and high school students with the tools they need for active participation and democratic action.

The games place students in different civic roles and give them agency to address real-world problems and issues. The games are rooted in clear learning objectives and integrated with lesson plans and other curricular materials. The iCivics curriculum is grouped into topical units that align to state and Common Core standards. Ultimately, the platform creates a reinvigorated network of educators committed to the civic mission of schools.

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At a Glance
Founded: 2009
Executive Director: Louise Dube
Founder: Sandra Day O'Connor
Civic Engagement
Location of work: Domestic, Northeast, West Coast, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast
http://www.icivics.org
iCivics
Cambridge, MA
Empowering teachers to engage and inform the next generation of citizens
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor helping students with the online game
Louise Dube
Meet Louise Dube

iCivics founder, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, was the first female appointed Supreme Court Justice of the U.S. She is a champion of civics education and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

Louise Dube joined iCivics as Executive Director in 2014. Louise discovered the power of education in the early 1990’s as a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative to incarceration program for youth offenders where education helped re-shape lives. She has successfully led growth organizations that make and deliver engaging educational technology and digital media. Most recently, she was the Managing Director of Digital Learning at WGBH, a public radio station in Boston. At WGBH, Louise helped launch PBS LearningMedia, a platform with more than 87,000 classroom-ready digital resources reaching 1.5 million educators. Previously, Louise served as President of Pangea Tools, an educational software start-up successfully acquired by Houghton Mifflin, and as VP of Marketing at Time To Know, a 1:1 curriculum platform, now distributed by McGraw-Hill Education.

IMPACT

iCivics now serves over 6.75 million students. The network counts over 108,000 active registered teachers each year.

iCivics is the largest provider of civics programming in America. Half of all middle school social studies teachers and a quarter of all high school government/history teachers rely on iCivics for their curriculum.

iCivics is a proven solution: its products bolster young people’s civic knowledge, civic attitudes and writing ability – all while controlling for gender, race, and income. Above all, students become engaged and curious about civic life.

iCivics spearheads the CivXNow! Coalition – a movement of over 115 highly influential organizations to raise national visibility and support for civic education mandates. This Coalition builds on the successful Democracy at a Crossroads summit in September 2017 and then the Civic Learning Impact and Measurement convening in Menlo Park, CA in January 2019. iCivics is now developing key infrastructure to achieve concrete policy goals at the state and federal level.

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Student playing iCivics online game

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