Advancements in technology now take some of the surprise out of report card and progress report time in the Demopolis City School System.

The program, Student Information Systems, holds all student and teacher data, student grades, attendance and discipline.

“We have integrated a home portal to allow the parents to log in and see the information instead of having to call the school,” DCS technology coordinator Jeremiah Dial said.

The only trouble with using such a program is that it is somewhat more complicated than simply opening a report card.

With that in mind, U.S. Jones will hold brief training sessions for parents of students who want to learn how to use the program.

“We’re going to close off the computer lab for two days next week just for parents who want to learn how to access this information,” U.S. Jones principal Tony Speegle said.

Speegle estimated that parents would quickly pick up in the program in “less than five minutes.”

“It’s not complicated to use at all,” Speegle said. “What we’re wanting to do is just show them how to find the information, show them how to log in and how to find what they’re looking for.”

The computer lab will be open to parents Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Parents can go online through the STI InformationNOW page and make sure that their contact information is correct and up-to-date. People can access the InformationNOW page through the school system Web site at demopoliscity.schoolinsites.com.