Seattle Public Schools

Greetings current and future GLES Dragons!

I officially joined the GLES staff as a teacher-librarian 2019, but I have been around the school for many years as a GLES parent and as a substitute teacher. Prior to my work at GLES, I was a teacher in Torrance, California and Harlem, New York. I have also taught in Shanghai, China and Tugela Ferry, South Africa. I have a Master's degree in International Education and have taught ELL as part of University of Washington's extension program.

Fun Fact: Most people around GLES call me Ms. Pickle. The name was started by students who really wanted me to finish reading a chapter book to them called Pickle. Prior to being called Ms. Pickle, I answered to Arielle's mom, Aliya's mom, Bodie and Kaila's mom, Andrea and Ms. Bernasconi (and its multitude of mispronunciations). It was complicated and, somehow, Ms. Pickle just works

Personal Message

My name is Dustin Cole and I have been teaching young scholars with moderate to severe learning disabilities for over ten years.  I am deeply passionate about advocating for the needs of my students and providing meaningful, inclusive opportunities for them to participate with their peers in the general education setting.  I understand that many parents are still learning to understand special education services and the IEP process.  My goal is to have supportive relationships with families and help them to be stronger advocates for their child.

I was born and raised in western Washington and received my undergrad at Evergreen State College (Go Geoducks!).  I moved to Washington, DC where I lived for eight years.  In 2010, I moved to San Francisco and received my masters and teaching credential in moderate to severe special education at San Francisco State University.  I moved back to Seattle in 2015 and live in the South Park neighborhood.