Education Secretary Linda McMahon addressed students at a private Christian high school on the Near West Side on Thursday, her latest stop on a national civics tour that some have criticized as bringing partisan politics into schools.
About 150 students at Chicago Hope Academy joined McMahon for the assembly, which was closed to the media. Half of the student body decided not to attend the optional event, according to Principal Ike Muzikowski.
“Not every student felt like this was the best program to participate in, or didn’t feel as comfortable being part of it, and that’s OK,” Muzikowski told reporters after the assembly. “We will continue to have conversations and figure out how we can learn from people who think differently than us.”
The visit was part of the U.S. Department of Education’s “History Rocks!” tour, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. More than 40 conservative organizations, including Turning Point USA, the America First Policy Institute and the Heritage Foundation, have signed on as sponsors.
The aim of the tour is to “promote a shared understanding of the principles that shaped the founding and history of our nation,” according to a news release from the Education Department. Last week, an elementary school in Fairfield, Connecticut, called off McMahon’s visit amid intense backlash from parents.
The assembly included a history trivia game, covering topics such as the Founding Fathers and Illinois’ role during the Civil War. Students also gave McMahon a campus tour.
“(The tour) is totally nonpartisan,” McMahon told reporters Thursday. “It is really making history fun. … It is bringing civics and history to life, it is not teaching curriculum.”
A promotional video for “History Rocks!” describes how the education system “was once a shining light … built on faith, heritage, patriotism,” but has since “crumbled from within.” Among the images that flash on the screen are an American flag in flames, a drag queen and a headline reading “critical race theory.”
Civics, the study of citizenship, was once thought to build a nonpartisan understanding of government. But it has increasingly become a battleground in a broader debate over the teaching of U.S. history and national identity. President Donald Trump, for example, has removed materials about slavery at some national parks.
Some Chicago Hope Academy parents had expressed concern for McMahon’s visit, according to Muzikowski. Still, he said it was valuable for students to engage across the aisle. The Education Department, he said, had reached out to the school to ask whether it wanted to host.
“Definitely a challenging last couple of days, deciding, ‘Hey, do we move forward with this, or do we follow the Connecticut school’s example?’” Muzikowski said. “We made the right decision in allowing her to come and see our school, allowing our students to engage and interact with and listen to someone who’s a very controversial figurehead.”
“She stayed out of politics,” Muzikowski added.
McMahon and Trump have effectively dismantled the Education Department, as part of a sweeping campaign to return education to the states. Mass layoffs have dramatically reduced the department’s staffing, which critics say has jeopardized school funding and weakened civil rights enforcement.
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Demonstrators protest an after-school assembly with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Erika Kirk, wife of former conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at Genoa-Kingston High School in Genoa on Feb. 5, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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Demonstrators protest an after-school assembly with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Erika Kirk, wife of former conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at Genoa-Kingston High School in Genoa on Feb. 5, 2026. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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“We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul — a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great,” McMahon wrote in a statement in March.
McMahon has also cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools. The department’s Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan, accusing district leaders of favoring students based on race. After CPS refused to abandon the plan, the department pulled an $8 million federal grant.
“Clearly, the Department of Education respects the law, and so when we look at grants, and how they’re distributed, we have to make sure that they are following the law, and every student needs access to school and to be judged on merit,” McMahon said Thursday.
When asked exactly how the program violates the law, she added, “We want to make sure that every student succeeds,” but declined to address specifics.
Muzikowski said he also hopes McMahon learned something from her visit. He noted that Chicago Hope Academy is currently celebrating Black History Month, and said the school serves a large population of students of color. The school has posters honoring figures such as Booker T. Washington and former President Barack Obama lining the halls.
“I think her perspective of the city of Chicago, and the children who are growing up here … whether it was changed or not, she definitely has a data point in the experience of positivity, joy, charisma, excitement,” Muzikowski said.
McMahon planned to visit Genoa-Kingston High School in DeKalb County for an event hosted by the school’s chapter of Turning Point USA later Thursday. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the high school in the afternoon.
