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Dryden, New York - 5 schools
An equity score of 72/100 ranks Dryden Central School District #88 of 941 districts in New York (state average 45). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $28,585 per pupil, Dryden Central School District ranks #275 of 999 New York districts by per-pupil spending (New York districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,345
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$28,585
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Dryden Central School District operates 5 public schools serving 1,345 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New York. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Tompkins County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $28,585 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 999 New York districts by per-pupil spending. See how New York compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 40.2% local, 49.2% state, and 10.6% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 72/100, ranked #88 of 941 in New York against a state average of 45, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (2 AP courses district-wide), a 159.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 34.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 81.5% White, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Dryden Middle School, with a diversity index of 41.7/100.
Its largest campus is Dryden Elementary School, enrolling 500 students (38% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Freeville Elementary School, at 80 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Dryden Elementary School accounts for 37.2% of all Dryden Central School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Dryden Central School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Dryden Central School District school enrollment varies 6.3× across entities
Dryden Central School District school enrollment ranges from 80 students (lowest) to 500 students (highest), a spread of 420 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Dryden Central School District student-counselor ratio is 160:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Dryden Central School District chronic absenteeism rate is 34.6% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Comparisons are relative to Dryden Central School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in New York
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Dryden Central School District?
Dryden Central School District has 5 schools, including 1 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,345 students.
How much does Dryden Central School District spend per student?
Dryden Central School District spends $28,585 per student. The district has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #88 in New York.
What is the demographic composition of Dryden Central School District?
Dryden Central School District students are 81.5% White, 7.9% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% African American, 1.4% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Dryden Central School District?
Dryden Central School District has an equity score of 72/100, ranking #88 out of 941 districts in New York.