George Watts Elementary is an extraordinary school. As a public Montessori magnet, the students come from a diverse array of backgrounds. Every day when children come to school, teachers individualize the curriculum for each child, giving them work that is at his or her own level. This is impressive.

Students from Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies spent the fall semester documenting the life of Watts. The class is called Capturing Transience: Documentary Photography and the Digital Age. Childhood is one of the most transient times in our lives, and each Duke or Carolina student spent the semester photographing an individual, a class, or an idea.

Service learning at Duke provided a grant to produce this website, and students provided final prints for an exhibit during an Open School Night. The website and all prints were given to the school as a gift with the hope that they support the hard work teachers and staff put in every day to educate the children of Durham.