Thursday, October 27, 2011

Dear Randy,

Thank you for your excellent leadership in the cause of civic education, especially for your hard work on behalf of iCivics. Your commitment has strengthened the prospects for American democracy.

Over the past few years I have traveled to many places in our country and have met with leaders in education, business, law, and government, encouraging them to take up the cause of civic education. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Meanwhile, I have also seen how iCivics games delight children while effectively teaching them about our government and civil society.

Thanks to your efforts, iCivics keeps growing at an astonishing rate. At the close of last school year, our games had been played over 2.3 million times by young people all across the nation. I am told that this year, usage of our site is up almost 250% over this same time last year. That’s more than triple the number of people coming to iCivics.org! This really demonstrates that you are part of something important that’s really going somewhere.

I see other signs that are encouraging. Political leaders of all political stripes now feel the urgency of our cause and are taking action. The legislatures of Florida and Maine have recently passed laws requiring civics classes in their schools, and their counterparts in Kentucky and Tennessee are considering similar measures. Perhaps this is something that can happen in your state, too.

There are potential resources to support your work. The federal court library funds of South Carolina and of Washington have both recently set aside some public education funds to underwrite outreach efforts in their respective states. Please let the iCivics staff know if they or I can help you secure similar resources.

I appreciate everything you have done to help make iCivics a success. I want you to know how much this program matters to me and how grateful I am for your efforts in achieving that success. Please stay in touch with us. Together we can make a lasting contribution to our nation’s preservation.

Sincerely yours,
Sandra Day O’Connor