McMahon told the crowd at Georgetown Middle she wants her tour to be more than symbolic, with the aim of spotlighting new career options.
"The reason I'm doing this is to look at best practices in schools across the country so that after I've completed my tour — and I think I'm on about 27 states now — we want to really compile a toolkit for parents and for teachers to take a look at and say there are some of the best practices I've seen around the country," she said.
The visit was also part of the Department of Education's "History Rocks" tour, marking the country's semiquincentennial.
Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, a move that would ultimately require an act of Congress. McMahon has fully endorsed the mission of closing the department, arguing more power over education should be given back to states.