The U.S. Department of Education's "History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour" stopped in Cincinnati Tuesday afternoon.
Monfort Heights Elementary in the Northwest Local School District welcomed U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Sarah Wilson, who was a special guest at the event. Before being appointed by President Donald Trump in 2025, Wilson worked for several years at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The department says the tour, which launched in late 2025, intends to visit all 50 states to promote civics education and "a shared understanding of the principles that shaped the founding and history of our nation."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon describes the tour as a celebration of the United States' 250th birthday. Still, some have criticized the promotional run for its partnership with the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, which includes politically polarized organizations like The Heritage Foundation, Turning Point USA, PragerU and Moms for Liberty.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights watchdog and legal advocacy group, has labeled some of these coalition members as far-right organizations and says Turning Point USA, PragerU and Moms for Liberty have embraced white nationalist conspiracy theories and vilified immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The History Rocks! stop at Monfort Heights Elementary did not contain any overt political or partisan messaging. For much of the nearly hour-long event, the school's principal and assistant principal led fourth- and fifth-graders in a few quiz show-style games, testing their knowledge of the country's founding and Ohio history.
Wilson addressed the students for about five minutes at the end of the event, congratulating them for participating and answering most of the questions correctly.
"You've learned about great people who did great things in American history," Wilson said. "Who knows, in the next 250 years, when we're celebrating America's 500th anniversary, we could be talking about some of you for the inventions and the things that you've done and being heroes for freedom and spirit across the nation."
The U.S. Department of Education declined to let Wilson answer any questions from the media.
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