Get to know the educator, media personality known as “Ms. Rachel,” and Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award winner.
Known popularly as “Ms. Rachel,” Rachel Griffin-Accurso (MA ’16, Teaching Music, All Grades) is an educator and media personality who creates research-based videos to help toddlers and their families learn, bond, and thrive.
As a young adult, Griffin-Accurso was an assistant teacher at a preschool for children with disabilities and at the Boys and Girls Club. She found herself captivated by “the contagious joy and wonder of children.”
“I was also a singer-songwriter and loved the creative process, so I moved to New York and became a teaching artist for years,” says Griffin-Accurso. “I wanted to combine my passions for music and teaching young people as a public school music teacher, so I came to Steinhardt to enhance my skills in both areas.”
After obtaining her Master of Arts in Music Education from NYU Steinhardt, Griffin-Accurso taught at a public school before giving birth to a baby boy.
“When my son was born, I stayed home with him for a year and saw how much music helped with soothing, bonding, play, and language development,” says Griffin-Accurso. “I created an in-person baby/toddler music class informed by my music education teaching skills, which I then moved online to YouTube because I wanted the classes to be more accessible.” Griffin-Accurso’s husband, Aron, who worked on Broadway for many years and as a composer, also began assisting with the videos.
I wanted to combine my passions for music and teaching young people as a public-school music teacher, so I came to Steinhardt to enhance my skills in both areas.
Griffin-Accurso’s videos infuse songs, games, and nursery rhymes with expert strategies to help children reach key milestones in the crucial early years of learning. At Steinhardt, Griffin-Accurso learned that effective teaching, especially for children, is like an interactive conversation. In a particularly impactful exchange, one of her professors demonstrated how to teach elementary students by having the class move and act like they were the elementary students.
“Every time we create an episode, I think about how children at home will be interacting with us, asking ‘What are the kids doing during this song?’,” she says. “It delights me to see all the videos people share of their children (and often the parents, too!) lighting up as they play their part.”
Looking toward the future, Griffin-Accurso is publishing a series of books that build on educational concepts in the show and encourage families to read together. She is also recording her first album so kids can enjoy the songs in a new way. This fall, her first line of toys is being released.
“I never thought I’d be turned into a doll!” says Griffin-Accurso. “I actually didn’t even really mean to become Ms. Rachel, but now it feels meant to be and I couldn’t be happier doing this work.”
In addition to her creative work, Griffin-Accurso is an advocate for children’s rights and works to ensure that all kids have access to high-quality early childhood education. She is an ambassador for Save the Children and Room to Grow. She is also developing literacy and preschool kits; for every kit that is purchased, she will donate one to help ensure all children have access to these learning opportunities.
Learn more about Ms. Rachel online at MsRachel.com, on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @MsRachelForLittles, and on her YouTube channel.
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