ENROLLMENT
K - 5 - 641
6 - 8 - 341
9 - 12 - 424
CURRICULUM
Dryden High School Diploma: A minimum of twenty-two credits is required for a Dryden High School Diploma. This includes four credits of English, four credits of Social Studies, three credits of Mathematics, three credits of Science, one credit of Art/Music, one credit of Foreign Language, one-half credit of Senior High Health, and Physical Education each year.
Career & Technical Studies: Dryden offers career & technical education through Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES located at 55 Warren Rd, Ithaca, NY. TST BOCES offers two New Visions Programs: Health Sciences at Cayuga Medical Center and the Biological Sciences at Cornell University. Both programs are highly selective and require an application and interview.
GRADPOINT courses at Dryden High School are mainly a credit recovery program, but they can be used for credit accrual to help our students graduate in a timely manner. GRADPOINT provides individualized, self-paced online instruction for high school students. It meets state and national standards, and can be used for credit accrual, dropout prevention, summer school, and credit recovery.
CELL PHONE PROCEDURES
Dryden High School has increasingly experienced problems with cell phones/personal devices use during the school day. Students’ use of such devices has been cause for distraction from their academic responsibilities. The current High School procedure allows students to carry these devices and use them during the following times of day:
- Before School until the beginning of homeroom (7:48am)
- In between periods when students change classes
- In the cafeteria during lunch (40 minutes)
- After school at 2:19pm
- When teachers give permission to students to use phones/personal devices while providing instruction
Unfortunately, students are not abiding by this current structure. In addition, earbuds and headphones are being worn constantly, often impacting the students’ ability to fully engage in instruction.
Research shows that off-task use of personal electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets etc… significantly disrupts the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory. This interruption of learning significantly impacts student focus and recall. Excessive cell phone use is problematic in higher education and the workplace. It is our responsibility, in conjunction with family support, to prepare students for this transition.
Refinement of the High School Cell Phone and Personal Devices Procedure
As a result, Dryden High School has adopted the following refinements in the procedure in order to promote student achievement and success:
Upon entering each classroom, students will turn off and stow personal electronic devices in designated storage areas (i.e., classroom caddies, etc.). They will be retrieved upon teacher directive or at the end of class. There may be times during the class period when a lesson will utilize cell phone technology for instructional purposes. Teachers will determine these times and direct appropriate use. Earbuds and headphones will only be allowed in the ears of the students during the times that the students are allowed to use their devices.
This procedure empowers students to develop personal accountability for their learning and success in future endeavors. Our goal is for students to be actively engaged in the classroom as well as within the school and wider social community.
During our opening day orientation, administration will detail the personal technology protocol and the repercussions of not adhering to the requirements. Teachers will also review the specifics for each classroom and include information in the course outlines. Thank you for your continued support of student success and your community’s school.