A SPECIAL REPORT: SCHOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY

HI MOM: Here’s one way parents can keep up with their youngsters’ schoolwork: Third-graders in Kim Preston’s class at Foothill Ranch Elementary have been sending and receiving electronic mail through their classroom’s computers. Preston says about 10 students have been given e-mail addresses and have been communicating with their parents at work, telling them what they’re doing in the classroom. . . . “They love it,” Preston says. “Every morning, they come in and say, ‘Can we check e-mail?’ ”

NEW PARTNER: Most employees of the Unisys Corp., which has offices in Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, send their children to Capistrano Unified schools. So it was a natural when the computer company volunteered some school help. . . . In a plan approved by the school board, Unisys will donate computers, sponsor an annual speech contest, and provide expert advice in science and engineering programs. . . . Says schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Price: “Bringing the corporate community into our schools is the way to go.”

LASER WORLD: You thought history and algebra were high school basics? How about lasers, wind tunnels and satellite navigation? Those are all part of Introduction to Technology, a new elective at Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove. . . . There wasn’t any problem attracting students: The instructor, Robert Smith, had to cut off registration after the first 120. . . . Says Smith: “It can help them choose what they want to do in their careers.”

LIBRARY TECH: Rancho Santa Margarita Middle School in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District is working on a computer system that would let parents, students and community members have access to books, magazines and CD-ROMs in the school’s library. Principal Walt Otto says he hopes to make the library available to the public by the end of the year. . . . “The advantage to kids would be that they could do research from home,” Otto said. “They could look up what type of books we have from their home computers and print out a list.”