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 Quality civic education materials were lacking, with most being outdated and dry.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.