George W. Watkins Elementary School

This article is about a current elementary school in New Kent County. For the historic segregated schools, see New Kent High School and George W. Watkins High School.

George W. Watkins Elementary School
Address
6501 New Kent Highway Quinton, Virginia 23141 United States
Information
School type	Public elementary school
School district	New Kent County School Division
Superintendent	Dr. J. Roy Geiger
Principal	Russ Macomber
Grades	K–5
Language	English
Website	Official Site

George W. Watkins Elementary School is an elementary school located in Quinton, Virginia, and is one of two such schools in New Kent County. As a formerly African American-only high school, it is a National Historic Landmark and is associated with the Supreme Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County. Like the other public schools in New Kent, Watkins is located on Route 249 (New Kent Highway), though it is about seven miles west of the others.

Integration and Green v. New Kent

Main articles: New Kent School and George W. Watkins School and Green v. County School Board

In the case Green v. County School Board, the Supreme Court ruled that the New Kent County School System's "choice system" was not sufficient for desegregation. Watkins was then converted into a middle school.

Modern Use

The building has served as an elementary school for some time, but was known as "New Kent Elementary School." The recent name change was meant to both honor the contributions of Dr. George W. Watkins and acknowledge the role the school played in the era of desegregation. The school has also recently switched from teaching only grades 3-5 to teaching K-5. This was achieved after significant renovation and expansion, and after the former "New Kent Primary School" (K-2) was renamed "New Kent Elementary School" and began to share the load of K-5 students.