A: Although there might be some minor confusion initially, aligning all schools' and District phone numbers under the new 754 area code will be a huge benefit to the District.

Our District continues to grow and new schools and school additions require new phone numbers. Very few, if any, phone numbers are left in the 954 area code, which is why the new 754 area code and 10-digit dialing were established. If we did not make the change now, as new additions are built, some schools might need two different area codes on a single campus. And, more importantly, aligning our telephone systems now will reduce the overall cost of telephone service, saving the District nearly $1-million a year -- money that can be used to benefit students in other ways.

Not only will all schools, departments and district facilities have numbers within the 754 area code, there will also be a logical sequence of phone numbers for each location.

The Public Service Commission awarded the Broward School District new exchanges for all phone numbers currently in use and those we will need in the future -- all in the 754 area code. The new phone numbers will fall into the following sequences:

754-321-XXXX Administrative sites and centers
754-322-XXXX Schools North of Broward Blvd.
754-323-XXXX Schools South of Broward Blvd.

On August 1, the District's main switchboard number was changed to 754-321-0000 and the conversion process continues on schedule. The process is expected to be completed in 18 months. As the District grows, new numbers will be assigned at a cost savings to the District.

Education Technology Services is working with Senior management, Area Offices, principals and department heads to make the conversion as smooth a s possible. For more information on the status of the conversion or for a current list of phone numbers, visit (www.browardschools.com/info/phones).

A new project is enabling parents to keep up with their children's progress at school on a daily basis - without ever lifting the telephone. It's called Virtual Counselor and it's accessible by logging onto the District's web site (www.browardschools.com). After a few simple clicks, parents can access grades, attendance records, test scores, class ranks and much more.

" Virtual Counselor was designed to provide students and their parents with a way to check their own records and answer basic questions a guidance counselor would typically be asked," explains Phyllis Chasser, Ph.D.

Sr. Data Warehouse Analyst in Education Technology Services. "Questions like 'what's my grade point average or class rank?,' 'did I pass the FCAT,' 'what classes do I still need to take to graduate?,' and 'did the service learning hours I turned in last week get posted yet?'"

Virtual Counselor is an ideal tool because parents can use it whenever they have the chance. All they need to do is log on. If they find something out of the ordinary, they can then schedule an appointment with a school guidance counselor. By providing students and parents with a self-service application, guidance counselors will have more time to perform real counseling activities, adds Dr. Chasser. It's also useful for teachers and school administrators.

Virtual Counselor is a project of Broward County Public Schools and IBM Reinventing Education. It's powered by the Broward County Public Schools Data Warehouse, which is helping to raise student achievement and enhance the District's efficiency by providing vital information to those who need it most. Designed with the entire District in mind, the simplicity of the Virtual Counselor interface is in keeping with the District's "Ease of Access = Use of Data" motto. To view a demo of Virtual Counselor, please visit (www.browardschools.com /virtualcounselor/).