Free, Non-Partisan Resources from iCivics to Encourage Learning Around the 2020 Presidential Election
 
With less than a week to go until the 2020 presidential election on November 3rd, Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo encourages educators and families to facilitate learning about the election with the non-partisan resources curated by iCivics. Using iCivics, educators and families can help students learn about the electoral process, understand the power of their vote, find ways to participate beyond the ballot box—and ultimately, engage them in our country’s democratic process, now and in the future.
 
“iCivics is a wonderful way to teach kids about our electoral process,” said Borough President Oddo.  “And parents and teachers can relax - these lessons and games are completely and refreshingly free of any partisanship whatsoever.  It teaches children to make up their own minds.”
 
iCivics, the nation’s premier non-profit civic education provider, is best known for their 20 engaging digital experiential games, along with hundreds of practical, dynamic, and standards-aligned civics lessons for K-12 classrooms. The games are ideal for classrooms, remote learning, and at-home schooling. 
 
This is not the first time the Borough President’s Office has partnered with iCivics. In June 2017, Borough President Oddo, in tandem with NYC DOE, funded professional development for Staten Island teachers – elementary, middle and high school. At that time, iCivics made their experts available for a full day of training, in order to familiarize the borough’s teachers with its digital tools, lesson plans, and curriculum. 
 
iCivics’ most popular election-focused games, Cast Your Vote and Win the White House, have been significantly upgraded ahead of the 2020 election to better reflect the public policy issues and challenges our country faces in the current moment, as well as the unique stories of a broad range of everyday people. They also offer an English-language learner version to support non-native English-speaking students. New features include an in-game glossary, image-supported concept assistance, Spanish-language mode, and voice-over for critical game content.
 
To support learning around the 2020 Election, iCivics has curated all of their election teaching resources at Election Headquarters, where educators and families will find:
 

• iCivics games, Win the White House, Cast Your Vote, Executive Command, and NewsfeedDefenders
• A Family Guide for playing Win the White House at home
• Print-and-go lessons that include simulations, vocabulary development, graphic organizers, and active participation opportunities
• Timely infographics that provide overviews of key concepts, such as gerrymandering and the peaceful transfer of power
• WebQuests to help students connect civics concepts to the real world

 
iCivics’ resources and games are best suited for students in grades 5 through 12 and are completely free with the creation of an educator or parent account on www.icivics.org.
 
“These lessons and games, like Win the White House and Cast Your Vote, are as timely as you can get,” Borough President Oddo continued.  “As far as I’m concerned, the lessons taught in iCivics should be required in schools and encouraged in homes everywhere.  It teaches kids what America is all about.”
 
About iCivics 
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. Since then, iCivics has become the nation’s premier non-profit civic education provider to 7.5 million students across America. Learn more: www.icivics.org.

On Tuesday, February 6th, BP Oddo welcomed two high school seniors to Borough Hall to congratulate them on winning an essay contest held by the Dreyfuss Civics Initative, a non-profit organization founded by actor Richard Dreyfuss that aims to revive the teaching of civics in public education. The Borough President’s office helped facilitate the contest in several of Staten Island’s public high schools.
 
The two Staten Island seniors, Madeline Belaya, of Curtis High School, and Maxwell Velikodny, of Susan Wagner High School, were each awarded a $500 merit check and a $500 donation to the faculty department of their respective schools.
 
The contest asked students to write an essay about the structure and balance of power among the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government. The organization chose the winners based on those they felt had the ability to express clarity of thought and form an opinion.
 
“At a time when over 50% of high school students nationwide are unable to name all three branches of the federal government, it is great to see Staten Island students like Madeline and Maxwell excelling in civics,” said BP Oddo.
 
The partnership with the Dreyfuss Civics Initiative follows a similarly successful partnership with iCivics, a not-for-profit organization that teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly through a series of interactive games.

​On Friday, June 23rd, Borough President James Oddo joined with members of the Department of Education to host a training session for teachers in iCivics. Through a partnership between the Borough President and the DOE, teachers from Staten Island public schools were trained in how to use this educational tool as part of their curriculum. Teachers will use the program as part of their Social Studies curriculum beginning in 3rd grade and continuing through the high school level. Previously, civics was only taught briefly in high school.
 
At the training session, teachers received an orientation from iCivics representatives on how to implement the game-based learning program in the classroom. Participants were able to explore the site, create accounts and start their virtual classrooms. The workshop put an emphasis on the train-the-trainer model, encouraging teachers to return to their schools and train other teachers. Teacher guides were also distributed to participants.
 
“This is a priority of ours,” noted BP Oddo. “We live in an era where we have more access to information than ever before, yet people still don’t understand how our government and country works. We want to reemphasize the teaching of civics, and iCivics is a great tool to do this. It draws students in through games and creates better informed citizens, who will be the true leaders of tomorrow. Focusing on teaching civics in our schools is a great way to get at society’s challenges. The more students learn about civics, the more likely they are to be positive agents of change in the future.”
 
“iCivics allows us to grow better civic-minded students,” said Christine Zapata of the DOE’s Staten Island Borough Field Support Center. “It allows kids to get deeper into topics they normally wouldn’t have learned about so early in their careers. Why wait until kids are 17 or 18 years old to make them better civic-minded citizens?”
 
“Students love iCivics,” said Amber Coleman-Mortley, Digital Media Manager for iCivics. “It puts them in the driver’s seat, where they can get firsthand experience in civics. We support the games with a curriculum for teachers to make sure that students understand the concepts fully.”
 
iCivics is a not-for-profit program founded by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2009. The program teaches students how government works by having them experience it directly through a series of interactive games. iCivics offers 19 free interactive games that focus on different aspects of civics education. It is used by over 150,000 teachers in all 50 states, reaching over 5 million students every year.