Five area high schools will be participating in a new online college preparation program this year, an HISD administrator said Wednesday.

Austin, Davis, Jones, Sterling and Wheatley high schools have decided to participate in the Online College Preparation Assistance Pilot Program, said Martha Salazar-Zamora, assistant superintendent for school support services.

The program, which will cost $1.5 million statewide, should make the process of applying to college easier for students, the Texas Education Agency said. The technology should simplify the college search, application and selection process.

The Houston Independent School District "will not need to spend any additional money for staff or administrators at these schools. (The vendor) will provide technical support and collect all the data," Salazar said.

The college readiness program is a partnership between the TEA, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the program vendor ConnectEDU.

Contact Lynn Walsh at 713-228-2850 or lynn@texaswatchdog.org.