About: Our History

iCivics was founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in 2009 to ensure that all Americans have the knowledge and skills to participate in our unique experiment in self-government.

Today, iCivics is the nation’s leading provider of and advocate for meaningful high-quality, nonpartisan civic education used by 145,000 educators to teach 9 million students in all 50 states. iCivics envisions a thriving American democracy supported by informed and civically engaged young people.

Read more below…

A Visual History of iCivics

iCivics’ first game remains popular, with players working to grow their law firm by deciding if potential clients have a right, matching them with the appropriate lawyer, and working to win cases.

March 1, 2010

This game allows players to do something that no one else can: control all three branches of the U.S. government. (In partnership with Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics)

March 9, 2010

Players test their persuasive abilities by arguing a real Supreme Court case!

May 3, 2010

Players learn how laws are made by taking on the role of a congressperson.

May 16, 2010

Players take on the role of president over the course of a 4-year term and try to accomplish their agenda while facing the challenges and responsibilities that crop up along the way. (In partnership with The White House Historical Association)

May 16, 2010

Players explore state and federal courts as they help passengers navigate their path through the American judicial system. (In partnership with Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics)

August 4, 2010

In this game, discover what it takes to become an informed voter — from knowing where you stand on important issues to uncovering what you need to know about candidates.

October 19, 2010

Guide newcomers along their path to citizenship in this game.

November 30, 2010
Educator Network members gathering at the 2023 National Council for the Social Studies Conference.

Educator Network Launched

The iCivics Educator Network is a group of educators across the nation who serve as champions and ambassadors for high-quality, equitable civic education, representing iCivics with outreach and training.

March 2011

Gene Koo hired as Executive Director

May 2011

Players are challenged to balance the federal budget while funding important programs without setting tax rates too high or borrowing too much money, all while keeping residents happy.

June 6, 2011

Developed with the National Association of Counties, in this game, players take on the role of a local government official staying on top of resident requests and making important decisions.

July 14, 2011

iCivics’ most popular game during election years, in which players build their own campaign and simulate running for president.

October 21, 2011
checked off checklist on clipboard with seal of approval

Integrated Standards Alignment Support

Standards alignment support integrated within website in partnership with Academic Benchmarks.

Summer 2012

Drafting Board

iCivics debuts classroom tool that offers interactive, scaffolded instruction for argumentative writing.

November 29, 2012

We the Jury

This game introduces players to the basic responsibilities and work of a juror.

December 11, 2012

iCivics’ first game gets upgraded with a new edition! Players can now choose to only take on client cases regarding the Bill of Rights.

January 15, 2013

Power Play

In this game, players coach a team competing to win power for the state or federal government.

May 7, 2013

Jeff Curley Named Interim Executive Director

July 2013

Louise Dubé Named Executive Director

July 2014

DBQuests

This tool helps students develop the skills for in-depth primary source analysis and inquiry.

August 12, 2014

iCivics launches its first state-focused portal for Ohio classrooms

2015

Wendy May-Dreyer Succeeds iCivics Founder Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as Board Chair

November 2015

The upgraded version of Win the White House is playable on multiple platforms, has an expanded primary experience, allows for greater personalization, and more.

April 2016
flash logo

Games across the iCivics suite received upgrades from previous Flash technology

April 2016

iCivics’ first state-based local government game, developed in partnership with Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership at Texas Woman's University.

March 2017

Briefing Paper authored by Peter Levine & Kei Kawashima-Ginsburg for the Democracy at a Crossroads National Summit

September 21, 2017

Now hundreds strong, CivxNow began as a coalition of 19 partners from diverse viewpoints committed to working together to create a culture shift that elevates civic education and engagement as a national priority.

2018

Developed in partnership with the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics, Newsfeed Defenders helps players understand the essential qualities of good journalism, in order to sharpen media literacy skills.

October 2018

Players test their knowledge of U.S. citizenship in this original BrainPOP game made by BrainPOP with iCivics.

February 15, 2019

Learn the big ideas at the core of the ratification debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in this game that drops players into 1787 and challenges them to persuade states to ratify or reject the Constitution. (Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities)

March 16, 2019

The iCivics Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship brings together high school students from across the country to lift up student voice and research civic learning experiences.

August 2019

First Washington, D.C. gathering of iCivics Youth Fellows

The inaugural cohohrt of iCivics youth fellows gathered in Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings and workshops at Georgetown University Law Center.

September 20-22, 2019

Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative launched after successfully securing funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

November 1, 2019

After conducing a virtual social listening tour, iCivics youth fellows launched #CivicsForUS, a social media campaign designed to start a conversation among young people about how civic education can be more relevant and equitable for all students.

March 2, 2020

iCivics receives Gold Medal in Humanities category at International Serious Play Awards

July 2020

iCivics partners with Kami to make lessons digitally accessible, allowing students to annotate and mark-up iCivics lessons within their web browser, which empowers them to think, collaborate, and succeed in more creative ways.

January 2021

iCivics partners with XanEdu to provide workbooks to meet the new Massachusetts Civics Project requirement.

February 2021

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U.S. Department of Education, EAD reflects the work of hundreds of ideologically, philosophically, and demographically diverse historians, political scientists, and educators.

March 2, 2021

iCivics debuts a series of short, animated videos.

April 2021

iCivics launches Exploring Primary Sources, a website supported by a grant from the Library of Congress that provides K-12 educators and their students with a curated collection of high-quality primary source tools from iCivics and our partners.

May 17, 2021

CivxNow hosted a Policy Summit to discuss the need for civic education and opportunities to accelerate progress during the 2021–22 legislative sessions.

September 21-22, 2021

iCivics expanded its Untold Stories series.

December 3, 2021

U.S. History I Teacher Fellowship Launches

Nine educators from across the country came together to draft an inquiry-based 8th grade U.S. History curriculum guided by the Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy

January 2022

Published in partnership with Teacher Created Materials

February 4, 2022

Players take on the role of President of the United States and respond to world events with the support of their National Security Council. (In partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations)

February 27, 2022

First Annual iCivics Youth Fellowship Alumni Convening

The iCivics Youth Fellowship Alumni Convening serves as a time when current fellows can hear from alumni about what they’ve been up to in their communities since their time as fellows, and alumni can see the results of the current cohort’s end of year projects.

April 2022

Larry Kramer Named iCivics Board Chair

May 17, 2022

The iCSL program aims to prepare students exploring careers in military and public service with high-quality civic learning experiences that build critical thinking, media literacy, civility, civic knowledge and participation, and service.

June 2022

U.S. History I Pilot Launches

iCivics’ yearlong, inquiry-based 8th grade U.S. History curriculum is piloted in three districts—Jefferson County Public Schools (CO), Oklahoma City Public Schools (OK), and Santa Fe Public Schools (NM).

August 2022

iCivics and the Center for Civic Education released a new short-form video series to educate middle and high school students about the U.S. Constitution by exploring every article and amendment in 2- to 4-minute segments.

September 9, 2022

iCivics Teacher Facilitator Fellowship launches

October 2022

iCivics releases Private i History Detectives, a new curriculum for K-5 that taps into young learners’ natural curiosity and uses inquiry to teach the basic skills that students need to understand history and civics.

October 25, 2022
Civic Learning Week logo

iCivics hosts the the first national Civic Learning Week, during which more than 100 partner organizations and 21 states came together to host 121 events to make civic learning a national priority in order to sustain and strengthen our constitutional democracy.

March 6-10, 2023

U.S. History I Pilot Expansion

With learnings from the first pilot year, the pilot expanded within and beyond the initial pilot districts, adding Cherry Creek (CO), Las Cruces (NM), East Baton Rouge (LA), and Simi Valley (CA).

August 2023

Players engage in the ideas discussed at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and discover the compromises made by the 55 delegates. (In partnership with George Washington's Mount Vernon)

August 27, 2023

iCivics partnered with Nickelodeon and ATTN: to bring children ages 2–11 a brand new animated music video series that helps them learn about how to be a part of a stronger democracy.

November 1, 2023

This product brings civics to life through media-rich, whole-class, collaborative experiences that engage students in learning about landmark Supreme Court cases.

January 8, 2024

In iCivics’ first game for elementary schoolers, players identify and seek to understand a community problem, listening to neighbors and making a plan for addressing the issue. (In partnership with DoDSTEM)

January 17, 2024

Players take on the job of advising the president through historical events and challenges by talking to people in and around the White House. (In partnership with The White House Historical Association)

April 29, 2024

This collection of nonpartisan, evidence-based, classroom-ready resources prepares students to skillfully verify the various pieces of information they encounter online. (In partnership with the Digital Inquiry Group)

August 25, 2024

Players ask questions, listen to responses, and apply critical-thinking skills to identify where loyalties lie in the British American Colonies. (In partnership with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

September 3, 2024

Founding and Early Years

When Sandra Day O’Connor retired from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, she still had a lot to give. At 76 years of age and a life of public service that included all three branches of government, culminating in 25 years of service on the High Court, a deep concern grew in her: too few Americans understood the purpose and role of our courts and political institutions of government. This is what spurred the founding of what would ultimately become iCivics.

From the basement of the Georgetown University Law Library, the nascent team conducted extensive research before launching a course of action. Quality civic education materials were lacking, with most being outdated and dry. The key question was how to make abstract civic concepts relevant to kids.

Many different options were considered, from e-books to multiplayer games. Then Justice O’Connor had a conversation with Dr. James Gee, a pioneer in the world of educational gaming––“serious games” as pedagogy. Within 15 minutes, he conveyed with ease and eloquence the power of video games for learning. She was convinced. A most serious woman in her 70s, having never played a video game in her life, decided to found an organization that would transform civic learning through edu-games, supported by high-quality curriculum.

In 2009, iCivics was born.

The organization, originally called “Our Courts,” came about organically. Early on, it chose to expand beyond focusing solely on the judicial branch to craft a comprehensive civic education covering the federal, state, and county levels of rule, self-determination, and the ideological principles upon which this unique nation was founded. iCivics launched its first game, Do I Have A Right?, in March 2010, followed by seven other games that year.

The most important factor was to “get the product right,” as Justice O’Connor insisted.

This meant listening to educators, heeding their calls for easy-to-use, time-bounded materials that also aligned with learning standards, and most urgently, educators needed help engaging students. Video games addressed this problem head-on.

To ensure teachers were best served, iCivics established its Teacher Council in March 2011 to both guide content design and offer peer-outreach and training to fellow teachers. The group started with just 10 members and has grown to more than 300 passionate civic educators in its current iteration as the iCivics Educator Network.

iCivics grew under the steady leadership of Justice O’Connor and many acolytes, including former clerk Julie O’Sullivan. Abigail Taylor led the project from its inception and acted as the founding executive director. Gene Koo succeeded Taylor as iCivics’chief executive in 2011, followed by Jeff Curley, who played a vital role in the success of iCivics’ early years as the founding deputy director and later interim executive director. 

It was also in 2011 that iCivics moved to a space within the Points of Light nonprofit incubator until it was able to move to its own small space in the DuPont Circle area of Washington, DC, followed by the move of its headquarters to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2015.

Expanded Strategic Vision

In 2014, current CEO Louise Dubé brought her leadership to the organization, having discovered iCivics and its power of engagement thanks to her own middle school son. 

“Homework first,” she reminded her son upon discovering him playing a game one evening. But this was the homework. The game spurred a flurry of questions and conversations between Dubé and her son that night on how government is meant to work. He concluded by blurting out, “All of school should be like iCivics.” She, too, was persuaded.

Under Dubé’s leadership, iCivics worked to increase its footprint in schools across the nation. Notably, in 2015, iCivics gained increased recognition, receiving the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions––the institutional equivalent of a MacArthur Genius Award.

In 2017, iCivics co-hosted “Democracy at a Crossroads,” a national summit that focused attention on the need for better policy to support innovative civic learning. This summit became a stepping stone toward launching CivxNow, a diverse coalition of organizations from across the political and viewpoint spectrums, working to make great civic education a national priority.

Today, iCivics is the leading provider of civic education in the United States. Our resources cover elementary, middle, and high school grade bands: edu-games and classwide simulation tools; lesson plans, infographics, and readings; digital literacy tools; a wide video series; and meaningful adaptations for English language learners.

But providing high-quality and engaging civics resources to teachers and students across our nation is just one part of achieving iCivics’ vision of a thriving American democracy supported by informed and civically engaged young people.

iCivics’ leadership in the civic education field is now well-evidenced. Crucially, it is multi-dimensional: we must continue to build the movement for more—and better—civic education, and illustrate the impact of civic learning.

  • iCivics resources are used by 145,000 active teachers each year, across all 50 states––benefitting more than 9 million students;
  • CivxNow works to advance bipartisan policy, federally and in states, to support civic education;
  • The Educating for American Democracy initiative seeks to scale excellence in history and civics education, focused on inquiry-based pedagogy;
  • The iCivics Civics, Service, and Leadership program seeks to meet the civic education needs of 350,000 students enrolled in Department of Defense schools and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs across the globe;
  • The iCivics Youth Fellowship is a full-year leadership initiative honoring the diverse voices and contributions of talented students.
  • Civic Learning Week is now a national mainstay of our movement, celebrating all that high-quality civic education can accomplish; and
  • iCivics’ professional learning services strive to offer civics educators real pathways to gain instructional confidence and deep knowledge in their practice.

Be part of our story—Join us for the next chapter…

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.