<A HREF="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=153400&TICK=PALM&STORY=/www/story/06-25-2001/0001520541&EDATE=Jun+25,+2001">Palm</A> has announced a leading-edge, independent school outside of Winston-Salem, NC, has become the first K-12 school in the country to require the use of Palm handheld computers in its high school and to pilot their use among students as young as first grade.

According to Eric Peterson, assistant headmaster at the school, ninth through 12th grade students returning to school in late August will find something extra in their registration packets -- a Palm IIIc handheld, a portable keyboard and a suite of software applications. The school is working with Palm and several third-party developers to select an appropriate set of software applications to be used by students and faculty across the curriculum. In addition to issuing Palm handhelds to the high school students, classroom sets of Palm handhelds will be used in science and math classes in both the middle and elementary grades. The school also plans to integrate handhelds into its brand new, multimillion dollar science, math and academic support centers.