A daycare teacher is facing charges of misdemeanor assault and battery following an alleged assault on a child at the Reston school, Fairfax County police said yesterday (Aug. 13).
Detectives responded to Bright Horizons Daycare at 11400 Commerce Park Drive on Aug. 7 for a report of an assault on the 3-year-old.
New Group Opposes License Plate Readers — “A new advocacy group is trying to get the Board of Supervisors to remove the police department’s Flock license plate readers that are popping up all over Fairfax County.” DeFlock Fairfax will host a public event highlighting its concerns about the automated cameras on Aug. 22 at Ravensworth Baptist Church in Annandale. [Annandale Today]
Kennedy Center Board Votes for Closure — “The battle over the Kennedy Center’s future escalated Thursday as President Donald Trump’s allies on the board took new steps to commemorate him with physical changes to the iconic performing arts institution that could defy a federal court order.” [ARLnow and AP]
Governor Tours Local Health Clinic — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger visited Neighborhood Health in the Groveton area yesterday (Thursday), “touting the progress the state has made in capping insulin costs and preventing prescription drugs from becoming unaffordable.” She also highlighted recently approved funding intended to offset the impacts of Medicaid changes on local residents. [WTOP]
Civil War Soldier’s Remains Destined for ANC — “A young Union soldier who likely died fighting in the Second Battle of Manassas more than 160 years ago is finally heading to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. The National Park Service announced Thursday it will transfer the soldier’s remains to the Office of Army Cemeteries.” [Inside NoVA]
I-95 Ramp Closure Tonight — “Weather permitting, the ramp from northbound I-95 to Franconia Road/Old Keene Mill Road (Route 644, Exits 169 A-B) will be closed for paving Friday night, Aug. 14; Sunday night, Aug. 16; and Monday night, Aug. 17 … Drivers are asked to follow posted detour signs.” [VDOT]
NSO Sees Bump in Support at Wolf Trap — “One of the few bright spots in the [National Symphony Orchestra’s] budgets suggests its audience is waiting in the wings, willing to buy tickets to performances outside the Kennedy Center. Its summer residency at Wolf Trap, an outdoor performing arts venue in Northern Virginia, beat sales projections last fiscal year and is on pace to do so again.” [Washington Post]
Veterans Launch Printing Center in Kingstowne — “PostNet, a global leader in high-quality shipping, printing and logistics solutions, has opened a new veteran-owned center in Alexandria, Virginia, at 6471 Old Beulah Street, and will host a grand opening celebration on Aug. 18 at 11 am.” [Press release]
Free Celebration at Clemyjontri Park — “Celebrate inclusion at the Clemyjontri Park Open House event on Sunday, Aug. 30. Fairfax County Park Authority’s access and inclusion staff invites one and all out to explore the wonders of this inclusive play space located at 6317 Georgetown Pike, McLean.” [FCPA]
It’s Friday — Expect mostly cloudy skies with a high near 88°F and a 30% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms after 5 PM. In the evening, there is a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms until 10 PM, followed by showers after 2 AM, with a low around 71°F and light, variable winds. [NWS]
Nearly four in five parents say their child brings home mostly B’s or better. We built a K-8 math program, and when we assess children, about 8 in 10 turn out to be at least a full grade behind in some area of math.
In our first study, about 6 in 10 of the children we assessed were two or more grades behind somewhere, usually in one or two areas.
Is our test simply hard? No. Our results are close to those of the federal NAEP test, which finds only about 1 in 4 US eighth graders proficient in math.
A child who has learned this week’s steps can get the worksheet right without knowing why they work. That is often enough for an A or a B, until a test asks for more.
Homework looks fine too, since it practices the topic just taught. Neither shows the missing earlier skill, so extra practice goes to this week’s topic, not the gap underneath.
Even Virginia’s state test can reassure too easily: a 2026 federal study put its 2022 fourth-grade “proficient” bar in math among the nation’s lowest.
Math builds on itself, so a missing skill does not stay small. Kindergartners we assess are almost never behind, but from third grade on, more than 9 in 10 have a gap somewhere. Research agrees: children who start behind tend to fall further behind, and fifth graders’ grasp of fractions predicts their high-school algebra results.
Our second study looked at more than 10,000 answers from more than 250 children who recently signed up for Level Up, including questions from earlier grades.
The misses were not math in general: basic multiplication and division facts mostly held up. What tripped them up was a few topics from a grade or two earlier, the ones this year’s math is built on: second-grade subtraction at the end of fourth grade, fourth-grade fraction word problems at the end of fifth, and fifth-grade decimal ordering at the end of sixth.
Fractions kept coming back: among children finishing seventh grade, about 8 in 10 of those asked missed fifth-grade fraction word problems.
One child in our study, just out of fifth grade, missed a fourth-grade fraction question and its fifth-grade version. Practice started with the fourth-grade topic. Within two weeks, the child had mastered all nine of its skills, then four from the fifth-grade version.
That is the approach: find the real gaps, start at the deepest one, and practice each skill from three sides:
Identify: recognize the idea, like picking which picture shows three quarters.
Construct: build the answer yourself, like marking three quarters on a number line.
Good Thursday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Aug 13, 2026.
Here is what’s going on Friday throughout the county, from our event calendar.
There is a 30% chance of showers and possible thunderstorms after 5 PM, with mostly cloudy skies and a high of 87°F. Winds will be calm, shifting northeast at about 5 mph. Friday night brings a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 PM, then showers are possible again after 2 AM, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low of around 70°F. Winds will be light and variable. See more from Weather.gov.
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
A Northern Virginia woman believes her dashcam and cell phone recordings of an encounter with masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Bailey’s Crossroads on Monday (Aug. 10) saved her life.
Carolina Molina returned yesterday (Wednesday) near the site along Columbia Pike where an ICE agent drew his gun and pointed it at her to provide further details of the encounter, which made waves after she posted footage of it on Instagram.
Event location
Online event (see link)
*Mamistad Groups meet IN PERSON-only the introductory Zoom call is virtual. 🙂
Pregnancy and new mom groups are a lifesaver when it comes to normalizing those feelings we just can’t be prepared for.
Gin Dance Company’s upcoming performance at Capital One Hall in Tysons will be its last.
Previously advertised as the launch of its 16th season, the Sept. 12 premiere of “Lightning” will instead serve as an unexpected swan song for the Reston-based arts organization after co-founders Shu-Chen and Gary Cuff announced yesterday (Wednesday) that they will wind down operations.
The man accused of killing Stephanie Minter earlier this year boarded and left a bus at the same time as her, then doubled back and stood behind her as she appeared to sit unaware at a Hybla Valley bus stop during the last minutes of her life, according to witness testimony and video footage.
Following hours of testimony and surveillance footage shown during a preliminary hearing in Fairfax County General District Court yesterday (Wednesday), the second-degree murder case against 33-year-old Abdul Jalloh was certified to a grand jury in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Fairfax County is bringing back a popular program that provides free trees to community groups for planting on privately owned properties.
The county’s Urban and Community Forestry Division (UCFD) is currently accepting applications for its tree distribution program until Oct. 30, inviting any local community organization — from volunteer groups and civic associations to faith organizations and nonprofits — to participate.
The Herndon Town Council voted this week to authorize collective bargaining with officers in the town’s police department.
Unanimously passed on Tuesday (Aug. 11) with the exception of one absent member, the ordinance permits police employees to negotiate hourly wages and annual base salaries, and an advance pay program through a union.
Blue Bottle Coffee has arrived at Tysons Corner Center.
The Oakland, California-based chain will open its first cafe in Virginia at the D.C. region’s largest mall at 9:30 a.m. today (Thursday), offering complimentary giveaways to the first 150 customers who stop by.
