Interim Principal: Jenn Aguilar 

Assistant Principal: Jamal Troublefield 

Address: 700 Watts Street, Durham, NC 27701
Phone: (919) 560-3947

Fax: 919-560-3949
Hours of Operation: 7:45 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Office Hours: 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Enrollment: 315

Visiting our school:

When visiting our school, please report to the Main Office and sign in. All visitors must sign in and wear a visitor's tag while in our school in order to provide a safe environment for our community. 

Volunteers

If you are interested in volunteering at George Watts, use the electronic volunteer application located at www.dpsnc.net/volunteers.

Make sure to check us out on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/watts.montessori

Check out these amazing videos of our staff and school! 

http://wondersofwatts.com/index.html

George Watts FAQs

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_2q6pMiN8Ex_SCESKZ-v8TsumnA57ILsazT5fl6D77Q/edit?usp=sharing

George Watts Montessori Magnet is one of two public Montessori elementary schools within Durham Public Schools. We began our transition from a traditional elementary school in 2004.  Primary classrooms were the first to transition, growing our program into the upper grades with each successive year. Full implementation occurred in 2009.  All of our students are selected through a lottery system. Our magnet theme is Montessori. Multi-aged classrooms are an integral part of the Montessori model. We are organized into three levels within our building, each containing a two to three year age span. Primary classrooms contain pre-k and kindergarten, Lower Elementary consists of first, second and third grades, with fourth and fifth grade classes comprising our Upper Elementary. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively and often present lessons to one another. Working together for a two- or three-year cycle encourages both strong bonds and caring classroom communities. Students remain with the same classroom teacher at each level. This provides a greater opportunity of time to build strong relationships between our teachers and their classroom families, in turn supporting academic growth. 

The Montessori model assumes that all children want to learn and respects the individual’s style and pace of learning. Each student is provided with his own work plan that corresponds to his academic needs. Students are provided time to master a concept, building self-confidence.  Classroom communities operate on the principle of freedom within limits, translating into respect for self, others and the environment. These principles are critical aspects of the Montessori curriculum.