Imagine this. Parents checking their children’s grades by calling up the information on a computer at home. Students studying at home looking up homework assignments on the computer.

Teachers using Web pages to post the syllabus for their classes and keeping attendance records with a computer instead of paper and pencil.

It’s all going to happen this year at high schools around Santa Cruz County, most of which resume classes this week.

The technological changes are the result of the $400 million-plus “digital high school” initiative established by the state Legislature two years ago. San Lorenzo Valley High School received $361,000 and Aptos High $666,300 under a formula that provides $300 per student the first year. Additional money is available in successive years for training.

The state’s goal is to have five students per computer at every high school by 2001. Before the state money arrived, schools were far off the mark. The ratio was 16 to 1 at Santa Cruz High, 14 to 1 at Soquel High and 9 to 1 at Harbor High.

By June, they should come much closer to the 5-to-1 goal, predicted Tim Landeck, technology coordinator for Santa Cruz City Schools.

San Lorenzo Valley High School was the first in the county to get state money and has made the most progress in bringing computers into everyday use.

This year, parents of San Lorenzo Valley students will be able to access student grades via computer because of a new record-keeping system. It also will enable parents who are online to check student attendance and assignments.

“Juniors and seniors will be able to get away with less,” quipped Connie Benton, the high school principal. “We’re not sure how pleased they are.”

She expects the system to get a lot of use because of statistics indicating 85 percent of the high school students have access to a computer at home.

“When you live in a rural area, this kind of communication really makes sense,” she said, adding that the next step is to lend computers to parents who don’t have them.

All the high school teachers have basic computer skills after five days of training last year, Benton said, and about half are comfortable using computers in the classroom.

At least two teachers in each department have Web pages, where they post assignments. More are expected to start doing so this year.

A program called the Cisco Academy will be offered this year at Harbor High in Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo Valley High to teach computer networking skills that could land students jobs after graduation. The program, done in conjunction with the high-tech company, had been available only at Soquel High.

Even more changes are coming at Santa Cruz High. Freshmen there now will take a class that integrates technology into the study of health. They will learn how to make a Powerpoint slide for a nutrition topic and learn the Pagemaker software program to create a pamphlet about healthy food.

Teachers decided a computerized class would help students without computers at home get up to speed with those who do. The health course, which is required for freshmen, was a good fit.

“Technology is a tool, so it doesn’t matter what you apply it to,” teacher Kristin Sharp said.

A trio of freshmen visiting the campus last week said they hadn’t heard of the new class requirement but one, Matt Lucey, called it “a cool idea.” Classmate Sarah McGillivray admitted she was scared of computers, but Ben Foxworthy, sitting with them, said he has a computer at home.

Santa Cruz High’s main building, which is 83 years old, is being wired for a faster fiber-optic connection. It is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Computers will be installed in 45 classrooms, with teachers getting a choice of an I-Mac or an IBM clone connected to a television/VCR that can be used to project lessons. Before, teachers had to share a TV/VCR cart that rolled from room to room.

Keith Wills, a photography teacher who has become the school’s technology manager, said he expects daily bulletins, now printed on paper, to be distributed electronically.

He also has plans for teachers to post homework assignments online, as well as samples of excellent student work. He has created a Web site at www.scphoto.com for his photo classes, which he said could serve as a model for other teachers.

About a third of the staff have been trained to use computers in the classroom, according to science teacher Deanna Young, who is heading training efforts. She ran a tech class for 18 teachers this past summer.

New teachers are required to take a technology class before they are certified and older teachers are having to upgrade their skills.

Young said veteran social studies teacher Dennis Mullen admitted he was techno-phobic when he signed up for Young’s summer class, but by the time he finished, “he was navigating around the Net with very little direction.”

In the school library, students will find 45 computers, up from 15 last year, and 15 more are due to arrive in November. Library hours will be extended from 4 to 5 p.m. to give students more computer access.

“We got a good bang for the buck,” said librarian Ron Boortz, noting the school paid just $725 per machine.

Those with computers at home can check the availability of books and magazines in the school library and order printouts of magazine articles for school assignments.

Boortz hopes to build personal computers for $200 and lend them to students who don’t own one.

Harbor High is a little bit behind Santa Cruz High because of state rules that required it to team up with nearby Loma Prieta High, a continuation high school, when applying for state money.

“They were ready to go but they had to rewrite their grant (application),” said Tim Landeck, technology coordinator for the district.

Harbor will share $461,100 with the home-schooling program based on its campus and Loma Prieta.

About a third of Harbor’s 65 faculty members have basic computer skills, which means they will get computers in their classrooms.

“We can put a computer in the classroom, but if teachers aren’t trained, nothing happens,” said social studies teacher Clinton Couse, who is heading Harbor’s digital project.

A decision on whether to buy desktops or laptops is to be made after a faculty meeting Monday.

“I’m leaning toward desktops,” said Couse, noting the portability of laptops makes them easier to steal.

At the suggestion of U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, Harbor sought advice from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey for its fiber-optic network. Naval students used the school site as a class project, creating a design, finding bids for hardware and installing boxes to protect it.

Two new computer labs are scheduled to be installed in September, one in the library and the other in a classroom. Both will have IBM clones, printers for students and large-screen projectors for teacher lessons.

New furniture is ordered but hasn’t arrived. It’s not covered by the state money but Ken Thomas, the former principal, set aside the money just before he retired in June, Couse said.

About $30,000 in state money is available to hire a technician to trouble-shoot problems, but Couse worries whether he’ll find someone at that price.

Soquel High hopes to get $507,900 for computer equipment and training but the state money isn’t expected to arrive until after January.

Assistant Principal Paul Jacobs hopes to upgrade the computer connections to shorten students’ wait at computers.

“If we add too many more units, we’re going to have traffic problems,” he said.

Some improvements have been made with district and school money over the past year. About 65 percent of the Soquel classrooms have computers, and three computer labs are available.

About 60 percent of the Soquel teachers have basic computer skills and another 20 percent are prepared to use computers in class.

At Aptos High, which opened two weeks ago, computer guru Mark Rogers is getting ready to unveil a system that gives every student an online portfolio recording their progress toward meeting graduation requirements. They also will contain the school’s expectations for students.

Parents won’t have computer access to grades, but Rogers hopes to add that later.

Three teachers — Rogers, Andrew Goldenkranz in science and Spanish teacher Brian Skeel — have Web pages linked to the school directory and others are expected to join them.

This year, eight Aptos teachers will get laptops and stipends for helping their colleagues.

“We want coaches to figure out ways to use computers in classrooms, not ‘Can you fix my printer?’ ” Rogers said.

About 250 new computers have arrived on campus. Aptos High, which is part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, also has a new fiber optic network to speed up computer connections.Aptos students can take a new class in which they can develop their technical skills, trouble-shoot computer problems and assist teachers.

Fifteen-year-old Wyatt Hull, one of eight students in the class, said he’s been computer savvy ever since fifth grade at Bradley Elementary. Now he helps maintain the high school’s Web site and serves on the digital high school committee.

“Computers are probably where I’m headed,” he said. “It’s like a frontier where things are being created every day.”