Janet & Laurence Watt

Janet and Laurence Watt are the founders and owners of Little Owl School. Each respectively has also established and owned other successful companies such as Renew Landscape Management & King’s Road Miniatures (Laurence) and Architecture M (Janet).

Both Laurence and Janet are graduates of local universities. Janet began her college career at LBCC and continued to CSULB where she graduated with a BA in Interior Design and a Masters of Architecture from Cal State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Laurence attended LBCC where he and Janet met, then continued to Golden West Community College where he graduated with an Associates Degree in Arts & Spanish. Laurence then went on to earn a BS in Business Administration, Major Computer Information Systems from Cal State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Being involved in the community is very important to the Watt family. Besides running several businesses, Laurence and Janet make time to give back. Previously, Laurence served as a City of Long Beach Cultural Heritage Commissioner. He currently serves on the board of the St. Barnabas Finance Committee. Janet is a founding board member of the IVA PTSA, served on the PTA boards for Los Cerritos Elementary, Intellectual Virtues Academy & Hughes Middle School, Los Cerritos Green Team Chairperson (2015 National Green Ribbon Schools Award Winner), Member of the Loyola Mother’s Guild, St. Barnabas Facilities Committee as well as an Advisory at IVA. She has also served on the Fairfield YMCA Board, Board of Health and Human Services and Long Beach Ballet board.

Little Owl was built as a place where there is value in each child’s innate ability to create, learn and build meaningful relationships with others. Laurence and Janet believe that knowledge is much more than how many facts can be remembered; it is about how a child is able to work through problems, through persistence and open-mindedness. These skills reach far beyond the classroom and shape the type of person each child has the potential to become. This approach to thinking allows each child to stretch and perform to a level that will ultimately serve them as independent and creative thinkers that can work and contribute to their community and society as a whole.

Little Owl was created as a place for children, teachers, and families to enjoy their journey of discovery and to encourage respect and stewardship for the world we share. Laurence and Janet created Little Owl to be a place full of joy, learning, and growth- a small community within a large city.