The first day of school for all Dryden students is Wednesday, September 9th, and it will be a virtual day for all students.

After the first day of school, students will follow the Dryden School District Calendar. On days when students are not attending school in person, they are expected to participate in class activities assigned by their teachers.

Most students who do not already have a school provided Chromebook or iPad will pick up their devices on Wednesday, September 9th. Building Principals will be sending information via phone and email letting families know more details this week.

Yes. Students are expected to complete all assignments and teachers will provide feedback and/or grades on work completed at home. We have also returned to our regular grading policies and students in 6-12 will receive numeric grades for their courses. If you have specific questions about grades, please contact the teacher.

Most students attend in person on either Monday & Thursday, or Tuesday & Friday. Students in Kindergarten and First Grade attend school in person Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Some students with additional services at all grade levels also attend four days a week. All students attend school remotely on Wednesdays.

The instructional expectations for remote learning for each grade level are outlined here. We have increased the expectations from last school year in order to ensure that our students are able to cover all of the essential content. We have also returned to our regular grading policies and students in 6-12 will receive numeric grades for their courses. If your student is struggling to keep up with the pace of remote learning, please reach out to your student's teacher as soon as possible to discuss your family's needs.

Students who are attending school in person on Monday and Thursday are in the "Purple Cohort". Students who are attending school in person on Tuesdays and Fridays are in the "White Cohort". Students who are attending school in person on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are int eh "Lavender Cohort". Students who are not attending school in person are in the "100% Online Cohort". All students attend school remotely on Wednesday, regardless of their cohort.

Families must submit a form verifying that heir student is engaging in remote instruction on days they are not in school. If families do not submit this form, they will receive a notification via telephone. If a family still does not submit this form, their student will be marked absent for that day.

Some of our teachers will be able to offer their students the opportunity to meet with them live during the school day. However, due to the difficulty of scheduling both in person students, and remote students, many teachers will offer recordings of their lessons that students may watch on their own schedule. We strongly encourage students to attend live meetings whenever they can in order to ask questions and interact with other students. However, we also understand that families may not be able to attend due to many personal factors. In these cases, teachers will also offer recordings of the live instruction that students can watch at a later time. If you have any questions about live meetings please contact your student's teacher.

Students who attend in person must be screened to ensure that they are not exhibiting signs of illness before entering the building.

Please use the "Daily Health Screener" on the days your students are attending in-person only.

Daily Health Screener: The screener is provided by Cayuga Health. You can access the screener using this link: http://dryden.cayugahealth.com.. You can find out more information about how this process works by clicking on this link: Letter to Families Health Screening Tool (1).pdf .

Please DO NOT register your child for the screener until after 3:00 PM pm on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. The screener will be sent each evening to the email address of your child’s primary contact in our student management system. If you do not know who your child’s primary contact is, please call your child’s school at 607.844.8694.

If you have not registered an email address with us, you will not be able to register for the screener right away. If this is the case, please call your child’s school to register an email address with the District. After you have done this, the screener should be available within 24-48 hours. If you cannot register for the screener with the link provided after 3:00 PM on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, and you have registered an email with address, please call your child’s school.

If for whatever reason, your child does not complete their screening prior to arriving at school, they will be screened at the entrance of the school. If you have any other questions about registering for the screener, please call your child’s school at 607.844.8694.

On Wednesdays teachers will reflect on students participation over the past week and reach out to students who are in danger of falling behind because they have not met the expectations for participation in remote learning. If the teacher is unable to resolve the issue with the family, they will notify their Building Administrators who will take further steps to help students and families successfully participate in their education on a daily basis. Students who do not compete assignments on remote learning days will not be prepared for their in-person classes and risk falling behind their peers academically. Remote learning "counts" and students must pass all courses, or meet all grade level expectations, in order to be promoted to the next level.

Across the district, Wednesdays are designed to provide individualized support to our students, families, and faculty. Teachers will be available by phone from 11:30 to 12:30 on Wednesdays. You can reach your student's teacher by dialing 607-844-8694 and following the prompts to the Main Office for your child's school. Teachers may also schedule individual or small group meetings with students as needed. Students will have remote academic assignments. Students in Elementary School and Middle School will participate in virtual school-wide Social and Emotional Learning activities. Teachers will have time to collaborate and attend professional development.