In the "good old days," the ones where kids walked up hill both ways to school through two feet of snow every day, parents were for the most part at the mercy of their kids when it came to learning how they were doing in school.

Those days could be numbered in Sharpsville, however, where in about a year parents and guardians might be able to access their children's grades at the touch of a button via the Internet.

A March survey of 155 students at the high school conducted by Principal Andrew Pollus indicated that 88 percent had access to the Internet at home, prompting the school district to begin studying technology updates.

Among those possibilities, Pollus said this week, was developing a site where parents or guardians could type in a password and check how their children are doing at any given moment. There would be no more waiting with bated breath for the end of a grading period.

While Pollus said the 88 percent figure was a bit surprising, it was also encouraging. And that, he added, helped the district make the decision to consider utilizing a grading program that, once installed, he said will probably take a year to become fully operational.

"We'll be able to give parents a password and they'll be able to access information on their student alone, as well as their grades and attendance and those kinds of things," said Pollus. "So that should save the parents some time and eliminate a lot of phone calls."