Author: icivics

Nonprofit Leader and Finance Expert Chuck Harris Joins iCivics Board of Directors

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Harris, former co-head of Corporate Finance for Goldman Sachs,brings years of experience in social impact, nonprofits and finance as newest member of the iCivics Board of Directors.

CAMBRIDGE, MA [July 21, 2022] – iCivics, the nation’s leader in civic education, today announced that finance and philanthropy expert Chuck Harris has joined its board of directors. 

After more than 20 years of leadership in the banking industry, Harris retired as co-head of Corporate Finance in the Americas at Goldman Sachs to take on a new and ambitious endeavor—amplifying the impact of philanthropy on some of our nation’s most pressing and complex challenges.

Harris refocused his business acumen to help innovate the nonprofit sector, most recently serving as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Meridian Partners, where he continues to serve as a special advisor. There, he planned and oversaw the execution and advancement of Blue Meridian’s strategy and operations, engaging and supporting new philanthropic partners within the organization’s pioneering model for finding and funding scalable solutions to address poverty and limited economic mobility. Harris spearheaded the effort to establish Blue Meridian as an independent 501(c)(3) and then led a $2 billion fundraising effort using insight and tactics from the best models in both the private and public sectors. 

Harris brings his social impact, nonprofit, and financial expertise to iCivics as it continues on an ambitious path toward sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States by providing free, engaging, civic education to all K–12 students. 

“I believe civic education is a long-term investment in the strength of our democracy and I look forward to contributing to iCivics’ efforts to lead the growing movement for more and better civic learning on the cusp of affecting real and lasting change at this critical time for our nation,” Harris said. 

Known for its engaging games, iCivics has expanded its scope in recent years. It continues to be the leading provider of K–12 civic education content, with hundreds of free, nonpartisan digital curricular resources benefiting more than half of the nation’s students in grades 4–12 every year. iCivics also supports excellence in civics and American history education through high-quality professional learning and its continued leadership as part of the Educating for American Democracy Implementation Consortium. And, through its leadership of the CivXNow Coalition of more than 270 organizations, iCivics also works to advance civic education as a national priority. 

“I have gotten to know Chuck during this process and I am thrilled to work with someone of such deep courage and commitment to fundamental values, and to have his partnership to support our mission and these same values that animate our work,” iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubé said. “iCivics is a social impact organization and Chuck brings all of the skills we need to address this enormous social problem: how to train and engage all young people to support our constitutional democracy.”

iCivics Launches iCSL Professional Development in Miami

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As we take this time to reflect on Independence Day, we want to acknowledge the role that those in public service and the military play in protecting so many of the freedoms we enjoy. The iCivics Civics, Service, and Leadership (iCSL) program aims to prepare students exploring careers in the military and public service with high-quality civic learning experiences that build independent thinking, media literacy, civility, civic knowledge and participation, and service.

An important component of iCSL is the professional development program. We work directly with teachers to understand the iCSL model and the resources available to them. Our teachers are also helping to shape the iCSL lens as teacher expertise will be incorporated into instructional materials.

We recently held our first professional development session with one of our pilot districts, Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Over the course of two days, we worked with a cohort of 12 Miami Master Teachers on the iCSL model and how to implement it in their classrooms. This model aims to work with teachers on developing a service and leadership lens while accessing iCivics resources and facilitating instruction that bridges the connections between civics, service, and leadership.

The Miami-Dade teachers walked away feeling confident in building these connections. They indicated the importance of iCSL in building character, inspiring civic engagement, and creating connections between content and real life.

Our constitutional democracy needs engaged participants with a strong foundation in civics and how the government works. This is especially true in the fields of military and public service. To this end, we are working with students and instructors in Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. 

As part of the iCSL Program, we will also be expanding the iCivics library of resources. This will include new online learning experiences such as five DBQuests that will engage students in a range of civic and historical topics, including Women in Service, the real consequences of fake news, U.S. territories, the judicial branch, and resistance to slavery. In addition to our curriculum, we are working with partners in the military community to create a volunteerism guide and civics fair guide, which will work to bring military and school communities together for engaged civic learning.

iCSL’s next steps are to provide professional development to Master Teachers at Prince William County Public Schools and kick off the pilot programs in Florida and Virginia. If you are interested in learning more about the program, reach out to us at iCSL@icivics.org!

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) have awarded the grant that will fund iCivics’ Civics, Service and Leadership program, designed to teach K–12 and JROTC students the foundational knowledge and skills needed to be engaged civic participants in a diverse United States.

Our mom, Sandra Day O’Connor, knew something about politics that America forgot

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Sandra Day Oconnor

Opinion: Some of the most important work our mom, Sandra Day O’Connor, ever did occurred away from the Supreme Court spotlight, in homes and classrooms.

It’s been more than 40 years since our mother made history.

Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female associate justice in the nearly 200-year history of the Supreme Court. The 1981 Senate vote to confirm was 99-0, which seems unfathomable in today’s politically polarized times.

Twelve years later, in 1993, Mom welcomed the second female associate justice in the history of the high court when the Senate confirmed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also by an impressive margin, 96-3.

This was Bipartisanship with a capital “B.”

And now, President Biden has signed legislation to erect statues of these two women legal pioneers somewhere on the U.S. Capitol grounds after unanimous consent in the Senate and an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House.

The overwhelming support for the statues of these two women with very different backgrounds speaks to something missing from much of today’s politics: respect for the other. Disagreeing without being disagreeable. Understanding that the other point of view is not intended to ruin the country.

Read the full article on USA Today.

Written by Jay O’Connor and Scott O’Connor

Jay O’Connor is a software industry executive. Scott O’Connor is a commercial real estate developer.

Philanthropy Leader Larry Kramer Named iCivics Board Chair

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Kramer, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, succeeds Wendy May-Dreyer, and will guide iCivics as it continues its expanded scope of work.

CAMBRIDGE, MA [May 17, 2022] – iCivics, the nation’s leader in civic education, today announced Larry Kramer, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as its new Board Chair. Kramer succeeds Wendy May-Dreyer, who took over from founder Sandra Day O’Connor and led the board for two three-year terms.

In recent years, iCivics has expanded its scope and embarked on an ambitious strategic plan to realize its vision of a thriving American democracy supported by informed and civically engaged young people. The leading provider of K-12 civic education content, iCivics creates free, nonpartisan online games and digital resources that are now used by more than half of middle and high school students across the country.

Kramer will lead iCivics as it continues its work to make civic education a national priority in order to sustain and strengthen our constitutional democracy. As part of these efforts, iCivics continues to lead efforts to implement a roadmap developed by more than 300 experts from across the viewpoint spectrum that states and school districts can use to achieve excellence in civics and history education. iCivics also leads a coalition of more than 200 organizations working to advance the civic mission of schools.

“It’s an honor to lead the board of iCivics and to work with its talented team and broad coalition of partners to strengthen civic education, which is essential for a robust and healthy democracy,” Kramer said. “iCivics is doing critical work to ensure that every young person has the knowledge and skills necessary to be an informed, engaged participant in civic life.”

As President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation since 2012, Kramer has guided the foundation in maintaining its commitment to enduring issues such as education while responding to pressing and timely problems, such as political polarization and cybersecurity. Kramer previously served as the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School. Earlier in his career, he served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr..

Kramer succeeds May-Dreyer, under whose leadership iCivics grew from reaching 48,000 to 145,000 educators, and serving up to 9 million students. During May-Dreyer’s tenure as Board Chair, Educating for American Democracy and the CivXNow Coalition were both initiated, and contributions to iCivics more than quadrupled. May-Dreyer also founded and chairs the Texas Civic Education Coalition, a cross-ideological coalition of more than 40 organizations with a mission to improve civic education in Texas.

“We’re incredibly excited that Larry Kramer has agreed to become iCivics’ next Board Chair and believe that he is the perfect fit for the organization as it reaches a new growth point,” iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubè said. “Larry’s experience in the nonprofit sector, and his knowledge of the education and political fields – along with his legal expertise – will help steward iCivics into its next phase.”

iCivics Educator Network Grows to More Than 350 Civics and History Teachers

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iCivics, the country’s largest provider of civic education curriculum today announced that it has added 134 new members to its Educator Network. The iCivics Educator Network is made up of more than 350 civics, history, government, and social studies teachers from almost every state in the nation who serve as champions and ambassadors for high-quality equitable civic education.

The Educator Network enables teachers to share best practices in civics and social studies, playing a key role in helping to empower students to engage as citizens in this country’s constitutional democracy, now and in the future. It provides opportunities for teachers to network with their peers, take part in focus groups, beta test new games and products, engage in special professional development opportunities, and build their voices as advocates for high-quality history and civic education.

“The iCivics Educator Network is more than a professional development and affinity group. An integral part of iCivics’ work, it’s a community that has developed over the past 11 years through which our best social studies and civics teachers are building a movement to reinstate the civic mission of schools in every corner of this country,” said Natacha Scott, iCivics Director of Educator Engagement. “Together these educators have worked through some of the most challenging times teachers have ever faced.”

Since it was founded in 2011, many iCivics Educator Network members have become some of the most prominent voices from the field advocating for civic education through the opportunities that the network provides. They are permanent fixtures as speakers at prestigious education conferences, routinely appear in both national and local media, and are recognized as excelling in the classroom.

The 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. And the teachers who join the network stay a part of the network, as more than 240 members of this year’s cohort are returning, bringing our total to more than 350 educators.

“The iCivics Educator Network has provided me and my students with a platform like the youth civics fellowship to share our passion and elevate the need for equitable civic education throughout the country,” said Michael Martirone, a high school social studies teacher in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, and an ed net member since 2016. “I have been invited to serve as a panelist and explain why this is the time to fund civic education and give my perspective from the classroom on other topics, as well. The iCivics Educator Network has given me the opportunity not only to teach civics, but to become a part of it.”

For more information about the iCivics Educator Network, and to find out how you can apply to be a part of the next cohort, visit icivics.org/our-network.

The Need for Multiple Perspectives in Civics

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In mid-November, when I was in first grade, my mother visited my classroom to share knowledge on Indigenous people, and specifically, our Narragansett tribe. As one of the few Native students in school, my mom’s presentation was essential for adding Indigenous voices to the curriculum. Aside from this experience, Native voices were never incorporated into my learning, especially not in history or civics classes. 

Instead, a limited narrative of my own family was presented, and I knew nothing other than to accept this. The omission of Native voices from my K-12 education silenced my own voice. Without seeing myself, or my family, I learned to compartmentalize my identity while in the classroom instead of letting it fuel my curiosity and insight. 

Since completing my K-12 education, I have discovered spaces that genuinely welcome and celebrate voices that expand the narrative of our nation’s history. I joined iCivics last summer as a part of the initiative, Educating for American Democracy (EAD). The EAD initiative provides a Roadmap for high-quality history and civics education that prioritizes inquiry and multiple perspectives. The current debates about what content can and cannot be included in history classrooms distract us from what students deserve: the opportunity to grapple with hard questions, to sort through evidence to determine whose voices and stories are amplified and whose are silenced, and determine what is signal and what is simply noise. The EAD Roadmap leans into these complexities through its emphasis on inquiry and on viewpoint pluralism. The Design Challenges highlight these complexities and acknowledge that our history is not cut and dry, leading to inevitable tensions in the classroom. Nonetheless, these complexities are what drive learning and create engaged community members. 

As an EAD intern, I curated resources for the Educator Resource library, including perspectives from Indigenous nations to broaden the scope of history and civic education to include the myriad voices, perspectives, and peoples of these United States. This aligned with the EAD Roadmap, particularly around “Theme 2: Our Changing Landscapes,” where students are asked to “analyze Indigenous understandings of land stewardship, economic activity, property, and prosperity” and “how have different experiences of belonging shaped the range of conceptions of ‘the people’ we find in the contemporary U.S.?” There is an underappreciated and complex relationship between sovereign nations and federal and state governments that all students must understand. Students must learn both the hard history of our country, but also, they must learn to celebrate and appreciate the ever-present cultural and linguistic resiliency of Indigenous peoples and the continual push for Indigenous rights, for Indigenous futures, and for our rightful place in “America’s Plural Yet Shared Story.” 

Being able to contribute to the EAD initiative has been very rewarding. This internship has built my understanding of broader dynamics in education and curriculum building while also incorporating my perspective and lived experiences to strengthen the project’s goals of equity and accessibility. History is a powerful tool and teaching students to grapple with complex histories expands their ability to engage as thoughtful citizens. Uplifting voices in the curriculum simultaneously uplifts voices in the classroom and empowers all students in their potential. 

Written by Emma Rial

Emma is a senior at Amherst College, studying sociology. She works on the curation team for EAD and enjoys hiking, cooking, and being home with family in Rhode Island.

An extraordinary investment in civic education at a pivotal moment

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At a moment when the need for better civic education has never been more clear, philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett stepped up and gave iCivics the largest single donation the organization has ever received. Like all of their philanthropy, this was an unsolicited gift to fund the organization’s important work as it deems best.

Scott has repeatedly said that she does not want their donations to be her, but rather about empowering others to make changes this world needs. And that is truly what we believe this investment will make possible.

It’s an extraordinary investment made in an extraordinary way, at a pivotal moment.

At a time of great division, Scott and Jewett have committed to civic education, a proven-effective, long-term way to strengthen our nation’s civic health—one that the majority of Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, agree can help heal this country.

This gift is a significant stake in iCivics’ ambitious strategic plan to further its work as the leading provider of and advocate for more and better civic learning, and its commitment to elevating civic education as a national priority and making quality and equitable civic education a centerpiece of modern education.

Founded in 2009 by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics is now the nation’s leading provider of high-quality, nonpartisan, effective, and engaging civic education resources. Our award-winning, free resources are used by 145,000 teachers nationwide to teach the majority of middle and high school students in the United States—9 million and counting each year.

But just as importantly, we have become a leading voice in a growing national movement around civic learning. We founded and lead the CivXNow Coalition of more than 200 organizations working to raise up civic education through bipartisan policy on the state and federal levels; and we are working to implement the seminal Educating for American Democracy initiative with a national network of teachers, scholars, students, and leaders from private and public sectors representing viewpoint, professional, and demographic diversity.

MacKenzie Scott’s and Dan Jewett’s investment will foster our work to ensure that each and every student in the United States has access to a high-quality civic education that prepares and inspires them to be informed and engaged members of society.

This kind of support demonstrates the kind of faith in the power of civic education and trust that our supporters have put in iCivics to help build a civic learning ecosystem that will sustain democracy in the United States for generations to come.

We are deeply grateful to Mackenzie Scott and Dan Jewett for their incredible support of our work.

Louise Dubé
Executive Director, iCivics

iCivics and the Council on Foreign Relations Release New Game to Teach Students Fundamentals of Foreign Policy

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What should the United States do if a disease in a foreign city threatens an outbreak here and around the world? Should the United States support democracies elsewhere? If an ally or partner is threatened, what is the proper U.S. response? Convene the Council, a new game from iCivics and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), encourages students to grapple with critical questions, using digital gameplay to teach important foreign policy and global civics lessons in an engaging way.

In Convene the Council, students play the role of president of the United States, navigating a range of U.S. foreign policy issues from the White House Situation Room. The game poses fictional foreign policy scenarios that resemble those in the real world and challenges students to use critical thinking skills to determine how the United States should respond based on recommendations from the president’s closest advisors. Players must navigate the difficult balance between foreign and domestic needs and determine the course of action they believe best supports U.S. interests and values, all while considering how their policy decision might play out internationally and how the U.S. public might respond. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it all too evident that policymakers in the United States must work collaboratively with leaders across the world to meet challenges that know no borders. Now, more than ever, the youth in this country must possess a foundational understanding of the world and how it works,” said CFR President Richard Haass.

The partnership between iCivics and CFR brings together the country’s leading provider of civic education content and the country’s leading organization on foreign policy. iCivics’ games and resources have been played more than 150 million times over the past decade. The addition of Convene the Council is an acknowledgement that civic education in the twenty-first century requires a global perspective.

Convene the Council adds a new dimension to CFR’s mission to build global literacy—the knowledge, skills, and perspective required to successfully navigate today’s connected world. Born out of concern that students demonstrate gaps in global literacy, CFR is creating learning resources that explain international relations and foreign policy to high school and college students who have little or no background in these topics. For example, award-winning digital tools such as Model Diplomacy and World101 allow students to experience firsthand how government and political systems work at home and abroad. This empowers them to understand real-world issues that transcend national borders. With Convene the Council, CFR now provides learning resources for students as young as twelve.

“This game puts students at the center of global civics issues, and helps them to grasp the interrelatedness of domestic and foreign policy,” said iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubé. “It represents an important collaboration between leaders in civics and foreign affairs, merging iCivics’ expertise in making civic education engaging and relevant through game design and effective pedagogy with CFR’s expertise in foreign policy. Together, we have translated the most critical aspects of foreign policy into a fun and educational game.”

The game is free and is also offered in Spanish.

To learn more about Convene the Council, visit: icivics.org/convenethecouncil or contact jacob@oneallen.com.

About iCivics
iCivics is the nation’s largest provider of civic education curriculum, with its resources used by more than 145,000 educators and nine million students each year nationwide. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor founded iCivics in 2009 to transform the field through innovative, free educational video games and lessons that teach students to be knowledgeable, curious, and engaged in civic life.

About CFR
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

14 Reasons Why Teaching Civics is Important Right Now

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Teaching civics prepares students to be informed and engaged members of society. Students who experience high-quality civic education are more likely to complete college and develop employable skills (including communications and public speaking skills), vote and discuss policy issues at home, and volunteer and work on community issues. 

However, prioritizing civics in the classroom can be difficult. According to research from The Brookings Institution, schools have reallocated instructional time from social studies toward key tested subjects, often prioritizing reading and math. This has become even more pronounced as class time has been disrupted by the ongoing pandemic. Teachers spend what time they do have in the classroom trying to catch students up and prepare them to meet grade-level requirements by the end of the year.

But teaching civics remains at least as important as ever, in preparing students to take their place in shaping our government and society now and long into the future.

Why make teaching civics a priority? We posed this question to iCivics Educator Network teachers and our staff members, and they responded with the following:

  • As we approach 250 years of America’s independence, there is no better time to teach civics. Instilling the principles and virtues of our democratic society will prepare future generations to lead us through the rest of the 21st century. -Michael Reyes, Youth Fellowship Community Lead, iCivics 
  • The reason for teaching civics has always been about helping to inspire the next generation to be active and productive citizens. -Janet Wills, iCivics Educator Network Teacher 
  • Teaching civics helps students connect past and present in order to be informed voters. It helps students make meaning of current events and reassures them that nationally and internationally, there is precedent for solving modern issues. Civics also helps students engage in critical thinking and writing, which engages those 21st century skills that will be essential in their future. In examining civics, we cultivate empathy. -Amanda Setters, Curriculum Associate, iCivics 
  • Civics is the language of the citizenry. It’s how we communicate and plan and execute the change we desire. When people aren’t prepared to find this voice, ask these questions, and learn their role in the community and the democracy, they miss out on a major opportunity to be part of something meaningful—and they resign that power, those decisions, to someone else. The returns on civic education, or lack of it, are cumulative and transformative. -Christian Swagger, Educator Network Teacher 
  • Civics is a shared reality. Regardless of where people fall on the current divide du jour, we are all a part of something bigger than ourselves. Civic skills have to endure, and they have to be taught. -Carrie Ray-Hill, Senior Director of Digital Learning, iCivics 
  • No matter what plans students have for life after high school—whatever their career plans, however they may continue their education—all students will be members of communities where they will need agency to raise their voices and make an impact. Civics teaches skills, knowledge, and disposition that will be needed by all. -Shannon Salter, iCivics Educator Network Teacher 
  • Civic education is important because it is the passport to the future. The future belongs to those who prepare and educate themselves today. -Angela Clay, Educating for American Democracy Curriculum Associate, iCivics 
  • Understanding civics empowers change. The founders intentionally created a system that could endure by allowing citizens to make changes that could benefit society as a whole. -Beth Doman Doughty, iCivics Educator Network Teacher 
  • In a digital age, it is easy to have knowledge of all of the wrong things. Teaching civics allows students to learn valuable skills that are conducive to critical thinking. It helps students understand how important decisions have molded the country and continue to set precedents as time goes on. I think the statement of “history repeats itself,” applies beautifully here in a sense that knowledge allows for personal action to prevent further repetition. -Niko Garcia, Curriculum Intern, iCivics 
  • I like to think of teaching civics as giving students the opportunity to practice civic skills they are going to need when it becomes their turn to play in the real game. -Tia Costello, iCivics Educator Network Teacher 
  • At its root, civics is about how we all live together, as different as we all are from each other. To do civics well, everybody needs practice, just as we all do in learning to read, write, do math, and cook a decent meal. -David Buchanan, Director of Massachusetts Programs, iCivics 
  • Everyone needs civics. It is the fabric of civilization. Contributing to the advancement of one’s community and society and understanding how to navigate through the perils and roadblocks is of the utmost importance if we want to continue to govern ourselves in a productive manner. -Kymberli April, iCivics Educator Network Teacher 
  • A government “of the people” can only exist if the people understand how their government works, and are willing to participate in it. Teaching civics is the pathway for meeting both of those goals. -Lora DeSalvo, Curriculum Associate, iCivics 
  • Civic education has massive cross-partisan appeal as a solution to what ails our democracy. The public overwhelmingly agrees that our country needs K-12 civic education! -Abbie Kaplan, Federal Policy Associate, iCivics

On the iCivics blog, multiple perspectives contribute to the public conversation about civic education in the United States. Each contributor represents their own opinion. We welcome this diversity of perspectives. Responses in this blog post have been edited for brevity and clarity.

iCivics Board Member, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, releases new children’s book, “Just Help! How to Build a Better World”

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Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, and iCivics Board Member, released a new children’s book, Just Help! How to Build a Better World, her third book for young readers. (Read the official announcement on AP News.)

“This is a wonderful book asking young readers the simple question Justice Sotomayor’s mother asked her each morning: ‘How will you help today?’” said iCivics Executive Director Louise Dubé. “Much of civic education is about understanding one’s role in relation to others, in supporting family and community. I was honored to contribute some insight to this book showing young people some of the simple, yet significant, ways they can make a difference right in their own communities, as well as inspire others to do the same.”

In the book, children help in a variety of ways – from sending care packages to U.S. soldiers overseas to cleaning up a park to donating toys to a children’s hospital to volunteering at a nursing home. 

“I want kids to do this intentionally, to think that this is a requirement of living almost, that trying to figure out how they will make a better world should be a part of the charge of their living,” said Justice Sotomayor in a telephone interview ahead of the book’s publication.

Justice Sotomayor said she wants kids not only to help family and friends but also to actively think about and act to help neighbors and the community and change the world.

In her role on the Board of iCivics, Justice Sotomayor has demonstrated a tireless commitment to ensuring each and every child in the United States is informed and inspired for lifelong civic engagement through high-quality civic education. Specifically, she has visited with thousands of students across the country with the message that they can—and should—help make a difference as community members. 

The book is available from all major booksellers, or it can be purchased through the Supreme Court Historical Society’s Gift Shop. 

Purchase the Book

Read More:

Chicago Tribune: 5 questions with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on her latest book, ‘Just Help! How to Build a Better World’