The Faculty

Suzie Hester is the director of the Center for Spanish Language and Global Citizenship. She came to Tucker High School  in 2017. She attended Texas Christian University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Education. She has an endorsement in Spanish after living and studying in Madrid at the Complutense University of Madrid and Cervantes Institute. She has worked in Chesterfield county for 19 years as a Spanish teacher and presented at the Foreign Language Association of Virginia conference.

 Mrs. Hester has lived in Belgium and in Spain where her three biological children were born abroad. Upon returning to the United States she and her husband adopted another child.  She has traveled abroad with students many times. She loves experiencing cultures first-hand and hopes to pass that excitement on to her students. Mrs. Hester teaches the newly aligned elective courses for the 10th, 11th and 12th grade Immersion students. She also teaches and organizes the Field Experience opportunities as an extension of the classroom to enable all Center students are outside the classroom using their language skills.

 Janean Rodkey comes to Tucker with teaching experience at the college level. She comes to us from Stafford, Virginia with upper level and AP Spanish teaching experience. Ms. Rodkey will be teaching the Immersion center seniors in the AP Spanish Literature and Culture course.  She has a Master's in Education, Foreign Language Instruction. Ms. Rodkey is passionate about fostering and contributing to an exciting and safe learning environment. She is dedicated to educating, inspiring and engaging students to become productive and responsible citizens. 

Aaron Lam is new to Tucker High School but not to teaching. His experiences create a confidence as he continues instruction with the Immersion 10 sophomores.

Kevin Dasta-Irizarry has helped expand the Immersion class options. Mr. Dasta teaches our freshmen and  sophomore Spanish Immersion Physical Education/ Health courses. Mr. Dasta is a native from Puerto Rico and brings a flair from the island to his classroom. The culture and accent is evident. In his free time he enjoys dancing bachata, merengue and salsa.

Dr. Tony Brinckwirth comes to Tucker High School from the VCU Language Center. He brings a wealthy of information and experience to the Immersion classroom including partnerships with schools in Mexico that bring a language exchange for students to foster their language skills.

Breana Figueroa is a Math teacher at Tucker who is also fluent in the Spanish language. Having connections from Puerto Rico, Ms. Figueroa carefully instructs the Geometry class in Spanish. Students enjoy this class and learn all about Geometry concepts in the target language of Spanish.