The Troy City School system will offer a new online program next year to give parents a chance to track their children’s academic and athletic progress.

Dr. Lee Hicks, superintendent of Troy City Schools, said the program will benefit students and parents alike.

“All this is there to benefit the students, but it’s also another opportunity for parents to be active with students,” Hicks said. “They don’t have to wait on a counselor to learn their child’s progress– they can already follow that along.”

Hicks said the program is capable of showing a students track both to graduation and to NCAA eligibility. The program is color-coded to show whether the child is behind, complete or right on track for where he or she needs to be.

The program also provides an online course for budgeting and personal finance.

“We’re looking at it to see how we can build it,” Hicks said. “There’s no concrete way to do it yet. We’re looking at ways it can benefit our students.”

Hicks said the school board is looking at the  course possibly being offered as an independent study course or incorporating it into the school’s  business education and career preparedness programs.

“That’s a resource we now have to educate students,” hicks said. “And that can be taken down to elementary level as well.”

The school partnered with former Troy University football player Duwan Walker to bring the program to the school system, the first in the state to use it.

“It comes at very minimal cost to us,” Hicks said. “He proposed it to us and showed us the benefits.”