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Before she became Ms. Rachel on YouTube, Rachel Griffin-Accurso worked as an early-childhood assistant teacher, a music teacher for refugee children in Maine, a teaching artist in New York, and a public-school music teacher in the Bronx. She holds a Master of Arts in Music Education from NYU Steinhardt. After her son was born she started in-person baby and toddler music classes, then moved them online so more families could take part. Her documented background is in teaching and music, not speech therapy.
Early work with young children and community programs
Her first jobs were with young children in educational and community settings. Biographical accounts from NYU Steinhardt and The Washington Post describe her as an assistant teacher at a preschool for children with disabilities and at a Boys and Girls Club. Neither account gives dates for these positions, so the sequence within this early period is not established.
Assistant teacher at a preschool for children with disabilities
Working in a preschool setting for children with disabilities gave her direct experience with young learners who needed individual attention. The biographies describe this as assistant-level work rather than lead teaching.
Assistant teacher at the Boys and Girls Club
The Boys and Girls Club role put her in an after-school and community environment with children of mixed ages. The sources place it in her early career, alongside the preschool job.
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Teaching music to refugee children in Maine
She also taught music to refugee children through the Boys & Girls Club in Maine. This was one of the first jobs in which her musical training and her work with children came together.
Singer-songwriter, then New York teaching artist
Accurso worked as a singer-songwriter before moving to New York, where she spent several years as a teaching artist. In NYU’s 2024 alumni profile she explained why she went back to school:
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“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.”
She enrolled at NYU Steinhardt and earned a Master of Arts in Music Education. The profile’s title lists her as “MA ’16,” which is the best available indication of the degree year. The sources do not give the start date of her program.
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Public-school music teacher in the Bronx
After completing her degree she taught music in a public school, including in the Bronx. This was the role she had set out to reach. The Washington Post reports that she left this job before her son was born in 2018, which gives the Bronx position a clear end point in the sources.
The year at home and the first in-person classes
After her son was born she stayed home with him for a year, according to NYU’s profile. Once she was ready to work again, she began an in-person baby and toddler music class built on her classroom experience. The biographies do not give a date for when this class started, nor how many families attended it.
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Moving the classes online
She then moved the classes online because she wanted them to reach more families. The Washington Post also reports that renting space for in-person classes was expensive. Her husband, Aron Accurso, began helping with the videos; the Washington Post reports that he voiced puppets and wrote songs. The sources do not state when the first online class was released, so this article does not assign a year to the move.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What each source supports
Most of the timeline above rests on two biographical sources. The table shows which claims each one supports.
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- For All Ages & Stages: From baby shower gifts to everyday play, Ms. Rachel kids toys include tummy time mats, rattles, baby teething toys, plushies, interactive dolls, blocks, puzzles and more
| Source | Date | What it supports in this article |
|---|---|---|
| NYU Steinhardt, 2024 Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award honoree profile on Rachel Griffin-Accurso (MA ’16) | 2024 | Early jobs, the MA in Music Education, her stated goal in the quoted sentence, and the year at home after her son’s birth |
| The Washington Post, “Ms. Rachel on children’s media, empathy and Mister Rogers’s legacy” | 2025 | Leaving the Bronx teaching job before her son’s birth in 2018, the cost of renting class space, and Aron Accurso’s puppet voices and songwriting |
Was she a speech therapist?
She was not documented as one. The biographies describe her as a teacher, teaching artist, educator, and singer-songwriter. They also explain that her son had a speech delay and that she later focused some videos on helping him learn to talk. That personal context explains the subject matter of those videos, but it does not establish that she worked as a speech-language pathologist.
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