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A Spanish-immersion preschool has opened in Falls Church’s growing West Falls neighborhood, one of several local developments that also include a new public works director, an upcoming art exhibition and a community stuffed-animal repair clinic.
Spanish-immersion center opens at West Falls
Tierra Encantada celebrated the opening of its second Northern Virginia center with an April 5 ribbon-cutting attended by state Sen. Saddam Salim and members of the Falls Church City Council, Economic Development Authority and Planning Commission.
The childcare and preschool facility at 131 Haycock Road has 11 classrooms with capacity for 152 children from 6 weeks through 6 years old. It includes an indoor gym and climbing wall, two playgrounds and a commercial kitchen.
Its play-based program combines Spanish-language immersion with activities involving science, music, engineering and sensory exploration. Infant classrooms also introduce sign language to encourage early communication.
CEO Kristen Denzer said learning another language during a child’s formative years can strengthen cognitive and social abilities while building lasting cultural awareness.
The center provides freshly prepared meals as part of tuition, with globally inspired dishes such as tofu ginger stir-fry, roasted chickpea and carrot soup, and Ghanaian jollof rice with shrimp and chicken.
Franchise owners Mustafa Durrani and Zargham Amid opened their first Tierra Encantada location in Alexandria in 2022. A third center was scheduled to open in Arlington’s Ashton Heights neighborhood in spring 2025. The company’s network included 16 locations across five states.
Amanda Stout Brain selected to lead Public Works
Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields announced April 7 that Amanda Stout Brain had been hired as director of the city’s Department of Public Works. She was scheduled to begin April 14, 2025.
Brain joined Falls Church after a decade with the District Department of Transportation in Washington, where her most recent position was deputy chief project delivery officer. In that role, she coordinated large projects across the agency with internal and external partners.
Her public-sector career also includes work for Newton and Somerville, Massachusetts. Experience in the private sector has also shaped her approach to public-private partnerships in planning and public works.
Brain said she looked forward to joining the city during a transformative period and continuing projects that improve life for residents, visitors and businesses.
She holds a master’s degree in city planning and a certificate in urban design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history, with a concentration in environmental studies, from Williams College.
Shields said her experience and values align with the city’s goals involving safety, sustainability and good governance.
“Faces & Figures” puts the human form on display
Falls Church Arts will present “Faces & Figures,” a juried exhibition exploring the human form through photography, drawing, sculpture and folk, naïve and primitive styles.
The exhibition will run from April 19 through June 1, 2025, at the Falls Church Arts gallery, 700-B West Broad St. A free meet-the-artists reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on opening night, when the Juror’s Choice Award will be announced.
Washington-based painter Teresa Oaxaca served as juror. Her training includes the Angel Academy of Art and Florence Academy in Italy, an apprenticeship with Odd Nerdrum in Norway, and study at The Art League in Alexandria.
The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free, and the exhibited pieces will be available for purchase.
Clinic offers repairs for treasured stuffed animals
A Teddy Bear Fix-It Clinic will give well-loved stuffed animals another chance from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. April 26 at Mr. Brown’s Park in Falls Church.
Organized by The Learning Quest, the event will bring volunteers together to mend damaged toys. Organizers are seeking people with repair experience as well as donations of needles, thread, wool, buttons, sewing kits and other materials.
Supplies may be dropped off during the clinic, and community members are invited to contribute their sewing skills and help restore the toys.