MADISON, Wis. -- A new student information system is being used in the Madison Public School System, and it could have a dramatic impact on how parents deal with their children.

The system, called Infinite Campus, will soon be the place parents can go online to access a fountain of information about their student.

The new system is designed to vastly improve communication between educators, students and parents. There is a tab for behavior and another for updates on individual classes.

While similar systems are in place in other area schools, it is a first for Madison. The Infinite Campus went live a few weeks ago, and right now teachers and other staff are learning how to use the Internet site.

School officials are currently using the system to take attendance and keep grades and transcripts together.

But by next semester, parents will be able to log on, enter a password for their child, and monitor all sorts of activities -- everything from behavior to awards to how their child is progressing in individual courses.

"I think this is a way that they can just be monitoring, on a regular basis, and saying, 'You know, things are slipping a little bit,' or 'Hey, you're doing great on this course -- is this something you really like?' And then they can do some reinforcement of that at home. So I think there will be lots of ways parents might be able to use that information," said Mary Gulbrandsen, director of student services.

Eventually, she said parents might be able to do everything from paying for lunch to enrolling students by venturing on to the Infinite Campus.

"But those are the things we'll take our time rolling out so that we do it correctly," Gulbrandsen said.

Gulbrandsen said the system has all the latest security software and access will be very restricted.

To check out the Infinite Campus, visit this Web site.