CIVICS recruits and trains talented undergraduate students to teach civics to elementary school students in the greater Boston area weekly. CIVICS aims to stimulate students' basic intuitions about justice and civic responsibility before they are required to take civics classes in the eighth grade in accordance with Massachusetts state education standards. Programming typically consists of guided discussions, hands-on activities, videos, and conversations with local elected officials and affiliates of the Institute of Politics. 

Recognizing the diversity of learning needs of Boston youth and the importance of teaching young people how to make an impact in their communities, CIVICS offers programming for differing ability levels and grades, and its curriculum has been translated into other languages for students whose first languages are not English. 

In addition to its weekly programming, CIVICS has a dedicated expansion arm that works to realize CIVICS' mission nationwide by interviewing community stakeholders about CIVICS' impact, meeting with legislators to promote access to civic education, and fostering partnerships with civic education nonprofits and colleges.