See our impact—2024 annual report
For the Future of U.S.
iCivics Innovates Education
An iCivics edu-game is more than just a digital simulation. It is an opportunity to capture young people’s imagination about history and civic life. Kids get to interact with the content, see themselves in new roles, and gain knowledge and civic skills in the process.
In 2024, iCivics created a whopping four original new games! These innovations are released alongside a full curriculum, and are adapted for the unique needs of English-language learners.
iCivics’ innovative product line now spans elementary through high school, offering supplemental resources as well as more robust options.
Through CivxNow, iCivics continues to mobilize a large, dynamic coalition for better policy and funding around civic education—with demonstrable success federally and in states across the nation.
iCivics is developing and piloting holistic professional learning options, as well as a full-year curriculum steeped in inquiry-based instruction and localization to fit the needs of communities all across the United States.
Well Versed
iCivics teamed up with Nickelodeon and ATTN: to bring children ages 2–11 a brand new animated music video series on how to be a part of a strong democracy.
Well Versed hits all the right notes as it explores civic topics––the functions of government, how laws are made, how to be an engaged citizen––with the youngest generation. The 12-part video series includes viewing guides that support at-home learning, with short activities and conversation starters for the family.
Bringing English-language Learners Into the Fold
More than 5 million students in the United States are non-native English speakers. Yet for years, excellent civic learning has not been a reality for them––a result of poor funding, limited curricula, and teacher preparation.
At iCivics, we decided to do something about it.
Everything we do—from our games and lessons to instructional videos and educator-professional learning—has built-in adaptations for English learners: translations; English voice-overs; glossaries for technical words; built-in scaffolds in our lessons; strategies and tips for educators.
This year, iCivics translated The Constitution EXPLAINED—a 35-video series—into Spanish, alongside a bilingual Teacher Guide. ¡Todo sobre la Constitucíon! explains the text, history, and relevance of our founding documents in everyday language for kids. Each video ends with a call-to-action so students may delve deeper.
Civic awareness must begin in the early years, too. iCivics launched Private i: an inquiry-based K–5 curriculum adapted for English learners. Private i awakens young children’s sense of wonder in civics: historical events, geography and migration patterns, and the meaning of belonging to a community. Students learn to notice and question, infer and compare, and reach sound conclusions. Primary sources help nurture their civic vocabulary and critical thinking skills.
Educator Network
Since its founding in 2011, the iCivics Educator Network has become a community of prominent voices from the field advocating for civic education. iCivics’ Educator Network includes educators with a variety of talents, interests, and teaching histories representing a diversity of grade levels K–12, geographic areas, and personal demographics.
Michael C. Martirone
New Jersey Public School Teacher
A New Curriculum: U.S. History Through Inquiry
iCivics released its first-ever core curriculum: a full-year 8th grade U.S. History I course rooted in Educating for American Democracy. This curriculum features:
- History instruction designed purposefully for civic preparation and engagement;
- Ample primary sources that articulate diverse, often untold, perspectives about our history; and
- Student-led inquiry and project-based learning.
We are scaling implementation each year, with the curriculum currently being used in seven districts across five diverse states—California, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The whole project is supported by in-depth professional learning.
“This curriculum has enhanced class discussions and permitted students to form their own opinions. The structure of the lesson plans have enabled me to conduct more organized Socratic seminars in my classroom. [The students] genuinely dive deep into the lesson content from the moment they walk in the classroom and engage in critical-thinking activities.
The students elaborate on their responses, think critically, and can justify their claims. Above all, students can relate what they learn in the classroom to life outside the classroom, and real-world situations.
iCivics has truly allowed the students to take control of their own learning.”
Tanya Dargin, Social Studies Teacher
Scotlandville Pre-Engineering Magnet Academy
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
iCivics Illustrates Impact
15 Years of Growth
200,000,000+
Total Game Plays
145,000
Teachers Engaged Annually
9,000,000
Students Reached Annually
80%
U.S. counties across the political spectrum reached by iCivics
Leading a Movement
iCivics is expanding its network across the country
Youth Fellows
- 5 Years of Cohorts
- 122 Youth Fellows
- Representing 41 States, D.C., and Puerto Rico
CivxNow Coalition Members
- 246 Organizations
- 41 States in State Policy Task Force
- 38 Policies Passed in 25 States
Through Inquiry Curriculum (EAD-aligned)
- 3 Years of Implementation
- 40 Educator Partners
- 3,700+ Students Learning Through Inquiry
A Stand-out Resource for Massachusetts
iCivics received a major vote of confidence from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). In their K–12 Review Guide of History and Social Science Curricular Materials, assessing over 100 curricular resources, the state found that iCivics ranked among the top resources available––at all grade levels.
The review highlighted much of the iCivics product line for its quality, including:
- Private i curriculum (for K–5) as a “strong supplemental resource”;
- Grade 8 curriculum and scope/sequence as a “quality core resource,” as well as our Civics Projects Workbook;
- iCivics’ new U.S. History I curriculum, for middle school, was the only program scoring positive recommendations on all criteria: standards-alignment; teacher usability; and cultural responsiveness.
Indiana’s Civic Education Commission
The benefits of our state-level policy work are exemplified this year in Indiana, following work by the 2020 Indiana civic education task force and a CivxNow policy win in 2021. Indiana House Bill 1384 established standards for civic education as well as a Civic Education Commission.
The law created a mandate for an entirely new civics course: as of this year, all students in middle school are required to complete one semester of civic education.
Immediately, this policy has already translated to increased traffic to iCivics’ site. Despite being the 17th most populous state, Indiana has surged to our 5th highest state in teacher usage and resource downloads. There is a direct link between stronger civic mandates and usage of high-quality curriculum.
Youth Fellowship
Our paid, 10-month, Youth Fellowship program allows U.S. high school students to take part in civic and media workshops, learn how to articulate and share youth perspectives on civic education, and showcase their own civic learning experiences. Students who join the program commit 5–10 hours a month, and receive a stipend at the end of the program.
iCivics Informs Policy
Just six years ago, iCivics founded the cross-partisan CivxNow Coalition. Membership has grown exponentially: 346 national organizations; and a Policy Task Force with representatives from 41 states.
CivxNow is the nation’s leading advocacy movement for high-quality civic education.
The Coalition seeks stronger K-12 civic education policies at all levels of government. We support evidence-based practices: requiring more time in school for civics and history; incorporating information literacy across the curriculum; providing opportunity and funding for enhanced professional learning in this field; and even “civics seals” on diplomas to recognize those students who commit to civic engagement.
In 2024, we achieved true successes: Six states passed measures to strengthen K-12 civic education, including appropriations for civic educators in Alabama and Missouri and a high school “civic seals of achievement” program in Indiana. In addition, robust “Information Literacy” bills have been introduced, and are set to be debated and in 15 states.
State and local education policymakers are needed to expand civic learning. This is how we revitalize democracy.
Mobilized hundreds of member-organizations, leveraging expertise and networks
Conducted policy scans of all states and federal requirement
Published empirical research, case studies, and a comprehensive state policy menu
iCivics Inspires Engagement
A weeklong celebration of civic events and conversations, the second annual Civic Learning Week was a grand success! We gathered educators, parents and students; policy experts, governors and judges; ambassadors and advocates—all to stress the impact a great civic education can have, inside and outside of the classroom.
The National Forum drew more than 60,000 in-person and virtual attendees, with highlights including a featured discussion with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett.
Across the nation, a wave of civic engagement swept classrooms and communities—Civic Learning Week was covered with more than 1,000 media mentions nationwide in nearly 300 publications including C-SPAN, CBS News, PBS, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
Now is the time to put our ideas into action. Civic education must become a nationwide priority. This is how to unite a pluralistic, thoughtful, and engaged society… and safeguard our constitutional democracy.
214 Participating Organizations
30 Participating States
92 Offsite Activities by Partners
Civics, Service, and Leadership
Established in 2021 with a generous grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Defense Education Program, the iCivics Civics, Service, and Leadership (iCSL) program aims to enhance civic education with the skills students need for a service mindset and a strong leadership foundation. The program works with educators in districts with a high presence of military-connected students, offering them new curriculum and professional learning resources and opportunities.
In April, we hosted an educator immersion day on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, in partnership with Blue Star Families and Hillsborough County Public Schools. Teachers started the day with a panel discussion between military parents and school district staff. One panelist shared that by the time her son was ready to graduate high school, they had moved nine times.
Moving schools means integrating into a new school culture. It means that different state standards and requirements may delay academic progress. It means, as one parent shared, that key pieces to a child’s education–like learning the branches of government–can fall through the cracks.
In its third year, the iCSL program ran across 4 states, engaging 48 K-12 & JROTC educators, reaching more than 2,000 students.
iCivics will keep expanding this program for military-affiliated students.
Invest in iCivics Today
iCivics works to ensure high-quality civic education opportunities are available for every student in the United States, preparing them for informed engagement in our nation’s self-governing society.
With your support, that vision is within our reach. Today, up to 145,000 teachers and 9 million students in all 50 states utilize iCivics’ innovative and free resources. Your tax-deductible donation helps us further our reach and deepen our impact, ensuring the practice of democracy is learned and embraced by each new generation.
View Prior Annual Reports
Learn About Our Strategic Vision
We empower educators with resources that build the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students need for informed civic participation.
We advance policy at the state and national levels to make civic education a priority for the health and strength of our nation.
We invite and engage a diverse network of learners and leaders in the movement for high-quality civic education.
We evaluate and share evidence-based findings that demonstrate the value and impact of civic education for our country’s future.
Our reach in classrooms across the country
145,000
active teacher-users
150 million
meaningful gameplays
9 million
students reached
95% of iCivics teachers note their students are
1,450,000
Total Gameplays since launch
Gee Winners!
Learning Award 2023 in the Formal Learning category
Research confirms that students who receive a comprehensive and high-quality civic education are more likely to be informed and actively engaged citizens and voters.
Specifically, students are more likely to:
Vote and discuss politics at home
Complete college and develop employable skills
Volunteer and work on community issues
Independent research confirms our resources produce clear and tangible benefits to students — even after controlling for gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Even more promising: over half the students that play our games in school play them again at home on their own time.
Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy (2021)
Marist College (2018)
iCivics Resource Back By Popular Demand
In October 2022, iCivics re-released People’s Pie. The game tackles a complicated subject—balancing the federal budget with tact and good taste. The new and improved People’s Pie gives students a chance to set the federal budget, all while diving into concepts of mandatory spending, tax rates, and spending deficits.
People’s Pie — El Pastel del Plueblo (en español)—has built-in supports, including: English- language voice over, embedded glossaries, gameplay scaffolds, and the option to play in English or Spanish.
Congress tripled funding for K–12 civic education from $7.75M… to $23M!
As a result of increased funding, the U.S. Department of Education’s “National Activities and Academies” program was able to make nearly 30 new awards this year—instead of its usual 3 to 6. Indisputably, CivxNow’s advocacy has benefited the field at large: a rising tide lifts all boats.
Statewide Successes
In 2023, CivxNow was tracking 131 bills in 38 states impacting civic education. More than half of these bills align with CivxNow’s State Policy Menu of best practices and recommendations. This work is complex, and results take years to bear fruit. It involves:
Building up the leadership capacity in state coalition affiliates
Cultivating relationships with legislative and executive branch stakeholders
Ensuring the resources and infrastructure exist to bolster policy implementation
Still, 2023 saw many policy successes: 14 states—red, blue, and purple alike—adopted 17 bills advancing civic education. This is the fruit of 5 years of research, mobilization, and action.
