Tracy Krysl called her class to order and told her students to open to William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

They all did, looking at the words of the classic play.

"Now, who wants to play Romeo?" she asked.

The scene sounds like a normal beginning for students in Krysl's freshmen communication arts class at Oakville High School.

The way her students read the play made it different. Instead of textbooks, each student opened a file on a laptop computer.

Krysl's class is part of a pilot program that began Jan. 12 for 54 freshmen in the Mehville School District. The other 24 participants belong to Allison Braun's communication arts class at Mehlville High School.

The district will look at the results of the program to answer questions about the effectiveness of using laptops in the classroom. If it works, the district will give laptops to next year's freshmen for communications classes and other subjects.

More and more, schools are using electronic textbooks to prepare students for the future. The Grandview School District has made the switch. Private schools like CBC and Chaminade also use them.

"Students have to be prepared because textbooks as we know them will be gone," Krysl said. "In their future jobs, they also will be using electronics."

In the long run, Mehlville also will save money going to electronic textbooks.

"We started with communications arts, because it's easy to buy electronic copies of classics like 'Romeo and Juliet,'" Information Technology Director Steven Lee said. "Every two weeks, we have an evaluation to see if it's working."

One question concerns "open source" materials, which are free educational programs created by schools and organizations. For example, a university might create a math program for public use. The district wants to know if there will be enough open source material so the students can put their textbooks aside.

Other questions include how do the students use the computers and what are they doing with them at home.

As for the financial side, any savings will be in the future, Chief Financial Officer Noel Knobloch said.

Mehlville spends between $500,000 to $600,000 annually on textbooks. They are on a replacement cycle, depending on the subject. One year, it might be math, the next year chemistry. Textbooks are physically good for six to seven years before they start to wear out.

"The cost would be more of a shift in expenses," Knobloch said. "Instead of buying notebooks, we'll have to buy the laptops and software. You also have to replace the technology. Once a computer hits five years old, it starts going over the hill."

For the pilot program, the district is spending about $500 per student, including the cost of the laptop, software and case.

One benefit comes from taking the weight off students by substituting lightweight laptops for heavy textbooks. It also is a natural part of students' lives these days, Krysl said.

"Most of them are very comfortable with the technology," she said. "They all have cell phones or computers at home. They know how to use it."

When her students found out they were picked for the pilot program, they were excited.

"Reading books is boring," Oakville freshman Janyia Rogers, 14, said. "Somehow, it's more exciting to use the laptop."

Tanner Fry, 15, likes the convenience of not carrying textbooks.

"So much is right there off the Internet," he said. "In the future, all we'll need is one laptop for all of our classes."

At Mehlville High, Braun's freshmen seem to be doing better with their lessons on laptops than they did with textbooks.

"There is that engagement factor," Braun said. "They like to use computers and it's faster and easier."

The freshmen also are aware of their responsibility with the program.

"We take good care of them," Rogers said. "I don't bring mine to school if I don't have an English class that day."

The students also know the pilot program could impact next year's freshmen.

"We want to instill in them a sense of pride and responsibility," Braun said. "How this goes will be part of how it goes next year."

Meanwhile, the Mehlville district is sharing information with the Wentzville School District, which decided to roll out a similar program in English I and pre-English for about 1,000 freshmen at Holt and Timberland high schools.

Wentzville started the program in January, helped by an anonymous $500,000 donation. The cost for the program is about $300 per student.

"This is something we've had in the works for a while," spokesperson Matt Deichmann said. "Sooner or later, textbooks will be obsolete."

At the end of this school year, the freshmen will turn in their laptops. Workers in the tech department will clean them and give them back for the sophomore year. The incoming freshmen will get new ones. By 2014, all of the students will have them.

"It only makes sense," Deichmann said. "The kids are used to these devices. You're talking the language of digital natives."