SUNY Cortland grad wins statewide honor

01/21/2026

Saranac Lake (N.Y.) High School principal Joshua Dann '01, M '03, didn't aim for popularity when he expanded a classroom cellphone ban to encompass curbing student cellphone use throughout the school day in 2023, two years before New York state adopted a similar policy.

"I never thought that the state would ever make it a law," Dann said. "I thought it was just a thing in little Saranac Lake, like, 'We're going to try to make a difference here.'"

The initiative to motivate roughly 380 high school students in this sprawling 685-square-mile rural district to keep their cellphones tucked away was shaped by student feedback and staff observations about the impact of digital distraction.

The new policy has reaped a big reward.

"To be honest, once it got rolling it was just so much easier because kids had their heads up in the hallways," Dann said. "Kids were louder in their classrooms because they were socializing. The lunchroom was louder. It was just a remarkable thing."

Now the school sees more engaged classrooms, strengthened peer relationships and a noticeable improvement in overall school tone.

And Dann has reaped rewards for choosing the harder path. Today, the educator, longtime hockey and lacrosse coach and engaged local community member is clearly revered by students, staff, parents and the Saranac Lake community.

Most recently, Dann's secondary school administrator peers chose the 13-year Saranac Lake district administrator as the 2026 New York State High School Principal of the Year.

The award is presented annually by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). It honors a secondary principal who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation and commitment to student success. Dann will now advance as New York's candidate for the National High School Principal of the Year award, sponsored by NASSP. He will be recognized on Friday, May 1, in Albany, N.Y.

In his time at Saranac Lake, Dann has strengthened Multi-tiered System of Supports, expanded student leadership opportunities, implemented trauma-informed staff training and prioritized family engagement, ensuring that communication, decision-making and planning reflect the district's diverse needs.

His high school offers expanded academic opportunities, including seven AP courses, 12 college-level courses, multiple CTE pathways, and two New Vision programs. He developed an academic support program providing daily interventions for at-risk students, contributing to significant improvements in achievement and graduation outcomes. The school's four-year graduation rate has risen from roughly 83 percent when he began to as high as 99 percent in 2021 and 95 percent in 2024.

Dann earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and master's degree in childhood education with a concentration in computer science. He also holds school administrator/supervisor and school district leader certification from Syracuse University.

"The (Cortland) teachers pushed you with respect," he said. "They knew it was hard and they knew it was uncomfortable, but they also knew that to be an effective teacher, you had to be out of your comfort zone. That was a great time for me, because I was nervous and scared and didn't know where it was going to lead me."

The Saranac Lake native had transferred to Cortland from North Country Community College. Dann at first tried to decline his student teaching assignments with the Syracuse (N.Y.) City School District because he doubted his ability in an urban setting. Wiser heads prevailed.

"And when I got there, I fell in love with it. I just felt like it was my calling," he said. Dann completed his student teaching assignment at the city's elementary and middle schools before landing a permanent teaching job with the district.

In his second year there, he took his class to try ice skating in Cicero, N.Y., although none had ever ice skated before. Dann still has the pictures and some former students remind him about the outing.

After about five years of teaching at the elementary and middle school levels, he and his wife, Marcie, returned to Saranac Lake to raise their three daughters.

At Saranac Lake, Dann also emphasizes shared leadership. Senior student couriers, school board student representatives and a staff leadership committee all play roles in shaping school operations and policy while teachers lead professional development, collaborate on curriculum design and pilot instructional innovations.

Away from school, he's the current president of the Saranac Lake Administrators Association, president of the Section VII Athletic Council, and vice president of the Saranac Lake Civic Center board.

He annually leads the Turkey Trot to support the Saranac Lake Student Needs Fund, which provides students facing financial hardship with essentials and enrichment opportunities. Dann walks more than 100 miles each November, contributing to a cumulative 11-year total of more than $300,000.

Dann's accomplishment burnishes the record of SUNY Cortland School of Education graduates in recent years.

Emma Efing '24 and Kayla Melita '24 both traveled to Spain after earning Fulbright fellowships, Emma to teach English during the 2024-25 academic year and Kayla to worked as an English teaching assistant.

Miranda Kistner '23 won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to spend the 2023-24 school year teaching at Colegio Decroly, a high school in Madrid.

In 2022, Caitlin Goodwin '11, M '16, a social studies teacher at McGraw (N.Y.) Jr. Sr. High School was named New York State History Teacher of the year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the nation's leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education.

The New York State Council of School Superintendents also named Jason Andrews '97, C.A.S. '03 the 2019 Superintendent of the Year.

Captions

Pic #1185

Dann joined several Saranac Lake, N.Y., Red Dragons and their friends to cheer during the 2022 Cortaca Jug at Yankee Stadium. Present, front row from left, were Katelyn Gay '24, Madelyn Gay '24 and Braden Ryan; and back row, Mark Farmer '83, Nora Glover '24, Josh and Jackson Hunt-Lamb.

Pic #3514

Dann participates in the 2025 Turkey Trot with his family, shown from the left, Marcie (wife), Addy (daughter), Sydney (daughter), Kathy (mom), Dann and Quin, daughter

Pic #5707

Coach Dann with senior women on the 2024 Saranac Lake/Lake Placid varsity lacrosse team

Pic #7605

Dann proudly participated in the 1999 SUNY Cortland broomball champions team (standing third from left)

Pic #7346

Dann led the school's first outdoor graduation in 2021

Pic #0443

Dann with daughter, Sydney, at her 2022 high school graduation

Pic #7410

Dann with daughter, Addison, at her 2024 high school graduation

Pic #2332

Dann with daughter, Addison, on her first day at high school in 2025

Pic #2890

Dann celebrates with two former students who returned for Homecoming 2025

Pic #1259

Dann participates in Saranac Lake's Prom 2025