"She is wonderful, she is vibrant. She is determined. She holds her students to the highest of expectations," Principal Amy Hoyle said. "She is very loving with her students. They are a family."

Enclade said she and her daughter usually speak every day, and it's extremely uncharacteristic for Monette to drop out of sight.

Friends and family have erected a billboard in downtown New Orleans seeking help in finding Monette. They also created a Facebook page.

"It hurts," Monette's aunt, Sheryl Bennett, told CNN affiliate WDSU. "There's a lot of danger out here."

But in her 2011 video, Monette said she had no qualms about starting her teaching career in New Orleans.

"I absolutely do not regret my decision to move out here. Becoming a teacher in New Orleans is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life."