31 years in public education
Dennis Cole has spent 31 years in public education — as a classroom teacher, a school principal, a county Director of Education, and now as Chief of Staff for the Orange County Department of Education. He is past president of the Association of California School Administrators, Region 17, where he served on the board for 15 years, including as Vice-President of Legislative Action. His work has always centered on one question: what does it take for every kid to have a safe place to learn and a real shot at success?
A record on the Fountain Valley School Board
Elected in 2022, Dennis is the current President of the Fountain Valley School District Governing Board. In his first term the board has focused on the things that matter most to families:
- Safer campuses — including new perimeter fencing across the district.
- High academic standards that have FVSD students ranked first in Orange County in reading, math, and science.
- Expanded STEM, art, and music opportunities for students.
- Fiscal responsibility — a positive financial certification every year, with stable, sustainable budgets.
Show up, listen, and do the steady work that keeps our schools strong.
Service across Orange County
Dennis continues to serve on the boards of the Fountain Valley Schools Foundation, Junior Achievement of Orange County, the Coastline College Foundation, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Advisory Council, and on the executive council of Boy Scouts of Orange County. He has also served on the Vanguard University Teacher Education Advisory Council, the Concordia University Dean’s Advisory Council, and the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union President’s Advisory Council.
Music and mentorship
In high school and college, Dennis was a featured member of the Young Americans. He plays guitar and sings, and has performed across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands. He has led worship music every week at Calvary Baptist Church in Huntington Beach for nearly 25 years, and serves there as an elder.
He and his wife Christine host 25 to 30 college students at their home every Friday evening for dinner and Bible study — mentoring them through school and life, and staying with them into their careers and marriages.
Family in Fountain Valley
Dennis and Christine married in 1994 and have raised their family in Fountain Valley. Together they have adopted five children — Mario, Melissa, Pete, Phineas, and Phoebe — and served as foster parents for eleven more. That commitment — to kids, to neighbors, to showing up — is what he brings to the school board.
Biography drawn from Dennis’s current bio and 2026 candidate statement; to be reviewed and confirmed with Dennis before launch.