ADDRESS & HOURS
George Watts Montessori Magnet School
700 Watts Street, Durham NC 27701
919.560.3947
REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS: 7:45 - 2:15 (doors open at 7:30)
EARLY RELEASE TIME: 12:15
The school has an early release once a month to allow teachers time for professional development and planning. Breakfast and lunch is served to all students on early release days.
How to apply
George Watts Montessori Elementary is a free, public magnet school that any student Pre-K through 5th grade who lives in Durham County is eligible to attend. Enrollment is secured through a lottery system. You must complete the Durham Public Schools lottery form and submit it to apply. The lottery application period is typically four weeks long and starts at the beginning of January.
For more information, please go to the Durham Public School Magnet lottery here.
You can also find information on the George Watts website here.
There is a sliding scale fee charged only for the Pre-K year which you can find here.
Transportation
Doors open at 7:30a. Last bell is 7:45a
School releases at 2:15p. Parents can arrive for pick up between 2:15-2:30p.
BUS RIDERS
The earlier you sign up for buses, the better for scheduling routes.
Bus routes, schedules and stops will be provided to families through each individual child’s school. Visit or call your school to get the most up-to-date information.
Track your child's bus with the Edulog Parent Portal App
Learn more on the Durham Public Schools Transportation website
Pre-K Bus Riders
ALL preschoolers must be secured in a child safety restraint system appropriate for the child’s height, weight and age and secured and used properly.
See the regulations in Chapter 5 of this online document.
And chapter 6 describes how to buckle your child in. All parents must receive training in this. The school should provide this information to families with Pre-K bus riders.
CAR RIDERS
Read an explanation of how the carpool line works here.
See maps of the carpool line routes here.
WALKERS
Drop off is at the Urban Avenue entrance.
Pick up is behind the school, by the rear door that faces the playground.
It is perfectly fine to walk your child to his/her classroom door.
In order to help teach your child independence and personal responsibility, teachers prefer that Pre-K and K drop-offs are short and sweet. Kiss and say good-bye. Try not carry your child’s backpack, and resist the urge to unpack it for them in the classroom. We know it's easier said than done during the first week or so - but the faster everyone transitions into the new routine, the faster the children can grow confident in their own abilities.
Dogs (other than service dogs) are not allowed on school property.
PARK AND WALK
Another option is to park and walk your child(ren) in. If you do this, keep in mind:
Limited 2-hour street parking is available on Watts, Urban and Dacian.
You are not allowed to park in the Watts Street Baptist Church parking lot across the street from the school, on Urban Avenue. The church respectfully requests it not be used by George Watts Montessori.
Early & Aftercare
High quality childcare is offered at George Watts Montessori after school from 2:15pm - 6:00pm Monday through Friday for a monthly fee. Activities during aftercare include homework time, library time, physical fitness, computer lab time, arts & crafts, guest speakers and performances.
During the first week of the 2023-2024 school year afterschool for preK and K is only available those days in which the student attends a full day of school.
Students who participate in the Afterschool Program (ASP) are eligible for Watts activities (e.g., EBOB, Sports Club, Game Club, Libertad). ASP students will be escorted back to Afterschool at the end of the Watts-sponsored activity.
Find online registration forms in English & Spanish here.
More questions? Contact ASP coordinator Brenda Murphy at brenda.murphy@dpsnc.net.
Lunch / Snacks / Breakfast
Lunch: Lunch operates by on a rolling schedule. The window of time when each of the three grade levels will begin lunch is listed below, with the actual time varying slightly by classroom. For example, all Primary classrooms will begin lunch by 10:20a, some as early as 9:55a. You can ask your teacher at Open House what specific time your child’s classroom will have lunch. Lunch will be served on early release days.
Primary: 9:55a-10:20a
Lower Elementary: 10:30a-11:00a
Upper Elementary: 11:25-11:45a
There are several ways your child can pay for lunch:
By writing a check to George Watts Cafeteria and bringing it to the cafeteria or putting it in your child’s school folder.
By sending your child to school with cash in their folder for lunch.
By signing up to pay online here.
Breakfast: Every child enrolled in Durham Public Schools can eat breakfast free of charge. There are no forms to fill out. Breakfast is served in the cafeteria, though some teachers often allow kids to bring breakfast trays into the classroom. If you don’t want your child to eat breakfast at school, be sure to let your teacher know.
Snacks: Snacks are provided by parents on a rotating schedule. Your teacher will either assign you your snack weeks or there will be a sign up at the beginning of the year. Typically, parents are assigned to bring snack for their classroom for a full week at a time (2-4 times/year). Teachers provide healthy eating guidelines for these snacks. Parents either bring in a week’s worth of snacks on Monday or bring something new each day. Either way works. Ask your teacher for guidelines specific to your classroom, including what time lunch is served.
Pre-K Lunch
The teacher or teaching assistant will help the little ones buying lunch navigate the lunch line. The TA or a returning Kindergartener will also help with opening containers, etc. Remember, you are welcome to come to school to eat lunch with your child anytime. Just remember to sign in at the front office first to get a “visitor” name tag
Food allergies are handled on an individual and classroom-by-classroom basis. The school is not peanut-free.
Find Breakfast, Lunch and After School Snack Menus here
What is Montessori
The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has been time-tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures throughout the world.
It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive.
You can read more about Montessori from the American Montessori Society here
School Supplies
Please check the George Watts website for the most recent school supply list. You may want to wait until the Open House to see if your teacher has a specific list for his/her classroom. It’s okay to bring supplies anytime in the first week or so – teachers don’t expect you to have supplies on day one.
How to find out what is going on at Watts and with the PTA
There are many information channels from the school and the PTA, in addition to this website:
PTA listserv. To join, email Bethany Hsia, PTA President, at bethanyjbrown (at) gmail.com. Listserv guidelines.
PTA meeting minutes from previous PTA board and general meetings, PTA budget, etc.
Paper flyers: these come in a folder that your child brings home from school every day.
Emails from your class parent
ConnectEd: Pre-recorded phone messages from the school and district are sent to the primary contact number for your child. These phone messages are the main way to receive information about weather-related closures
More useful links
Durham Public Schools (DPS) Resources
George Watts Resources
NC Essential Science Standards
NC Essential Social Studies Standards
PTA Resources
Parent Engagement Resources
Strengthening Families Coalition and PFAST (Parent & Family Advocacy and Support Training)
Focus Schools, N.C. Department of Public Instruction
Parent and Family Engagement Toolkit, N.C. Department of Public Instruction