More technological

help for parents and students is coming this year, says Ed Steil, Fayette

County School System's director of technology services.

For instance,

soon you'll be able to prepay for school lunches.

"It's

an excellent program," said Steil, adding, "We're still working

out the bugs."

Students who

participate in the program are randomly assigned four-digit personal identification

numbers. Lunchroom cashiers enter the PIN into a computerized system to

debit money from a student's account. Parents can place as much money

into the account as they want to cover lunch costs for a week, month or

entire year. If a student forgets his or her PIN, cashiers can easily

look up the student's number using a last name.

The program

was piloted in Spring Hill and Oak Grove elementary schools, and the first

to get it this year will be Peachtree City Elementary.

Ten more schools

will offer the program by year's end.

Two new computer

labs also are on tap for Fayette County High School, with 60 wireless

lap tops, said Steil. The wireless lap tops were piloted at Braelinn Elementary

School last year.

Two new labs

also are coming to Brooks Elementary, one at Hood Avenue and one at Fayetteville

Elementary.

Workers are

setting up special instructional Web sites at several schools, said Steil,

to provide more space for teachers to put up homework assignments and

other information for parents.

"Most

elementary and middle schools are using the Homework Helpline," said

Steil, where parents can phone in to get assignments, and many teachers

already e-mail parents with information on a regular basis. "But

this will provide a lot more space to save things," he said.

For instance,

parents and students also will be able to look up old assignments their

students might have missed.

"We're

still catching up" on a lot of projects, Steil said, because the

school system's budget was passed late. But as the year progresses, technological

advances will keep getting better, he said.

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