The pandemic of 2020 crippled the world and left our school systems scrambling to figure out how to reach students through remote learning. In March 2020 a woman by the name of Monica J. Sutton, an educator with a M.S. in early childhood education and over 20+ years in the field, decided to use her YouTube account as a resource for parents.
Ms. Monica, which she quickly became known as, created videos centered around her daily classroom activities for her students. Initially, the video lessons were for her current students, but on March 23, 2020 she decided to make the videos public so more children would have access to consistent lessons. The first video went viral! That video introduced “Circle Time With Ms. Monica” to families around the world and it is now at 15 million+ views on YouTube. 15 Weeks of daily educational videos gave parents a sign of relief that someone was out there providing quality content for their little ones during those uncertain times.
*This is interview aired on the PIX 11 News in New York City in February 2022
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Well, before going viral was a thing and influencers had a place on your timeline.
Monica Sutton was doing what she does best on YouTube.
Now he's having some fun.
I just wanted to create a resource for families.
I really wanted them to have activities they could do at home with their children.
From do it yourself tutorials to reading stories to kids, the teacher who at the
time was working for the New York City Department of Education was ahead of the
curve. It wasn't until March of 2020 when the pandemic paralyzed schools
nationwide, transforming what was a hobby into an essential service.
Good morning.
Good morning to you.
It was my very first circle time with Miss Monica lesson that I opened up to the
public. That is really the video March 20th.
I'll never forget it because that video is just everyone just started sharing it and
sharing it. The rest is YouTube history.
Sutton's online community of parents looking for guidance in an uncertain time
swelled to more than half a million subscribers.
The early childhood educator who is now based in Newark started churning out videos
on a daily basis, eventually making it a full time gig.
The production, which happens inside her home with the help of her husband, now has
a worldwide audience in racks of millions of views.
Opened up this door for me to be that creator that I've always been.
I've always been a creator inside of the classroom.
I've always worked hard and I've always known that it was more than just teaching
in the classroom. Sutton recently received a grant as part of Hashtag YouTube Black
Voices Fund program, which is dedicated to investing in black creators and artists,
providing them with the resources to elevate their presence on the platform.
It's going to allow me to grow my channel and all of that, all that comes with
that. A resource making a big difference with just a click.
Thank you for singing with me today.
In Newark, I'm Andrew Ramos, PIX11 News.
