Freshmen at Bishop Canevin High School this fall will receive more than textbooks and pencils.

They will get Apple iPads as part of a new pilot program called The Crusader iPad Advantage or the iCrusade for short.

Ninth-graders will be the only students with the electronic devices during the 2011-12 school year. The program will be phased in over four years to include all students.

"What technology needs to be is integrated throughout the curriculum so that students are prepared and learn to use those tools," said Kenneth Sinagra, principal of the Catholic high school in the Oakwood neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Funding for the iPads came from an allotment by the state of Pennsylvania for textbooks and technology and the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Enhancing Education Through Technology program. Bishop Canevin received $23,000 from the technology grant program, of which $19,000 will be used to purchase the iPads and $4,000 will be used for professional training and development.

This public and some private funding ensure the iPads can be handed out at no cost to the students.

Bishop Canevin administrators said they don't know how many iPads they will need until they learn the size of the fall's freshman class. An official said the number will be about 115.

Mr. Sinagra said the purchase was a result of research he conducted on a number of pilot programs where the introduction of iPads in the classroom has proved successful.

"This is probably the way education is headed in the future," said Mr. Sinagra. "Why not get a jump on it and pilot it with our freshmen."

Mr. Sinagra said forward thinking is nothing new to Bishop Canevin.

The school has state-of-the-art computer labs, a wireless infrastructure, business class high-speed Internet, streaming audio and video broadcasts and SMART Boards in most classrooms.

The Enhancing Education program includes funding for student study and research and professional development for faculty on how to incorporate the technology into their classrooms.

"That's a crucial component," said Mr. Sinagra. "Certainly from day one, when the students enter the classrooms, teachers need to be ready to use the iPads."

Apple has also offered to provide some training for the teachers. In the meantime, Mr. Sinagra has an assignment for the faculty.

"Their homework, beginning now through mid-summer, is to learn to use the iPad and to research what applications would be appropriate for their curriculum," he said.

Mr. Sinagra said he prefers iPads over laptops for their portability and the availability of the applications that can be downloaded. It's also a one-stop shop for students with access to books, novels, planners and class schedules.

"Everything can be done right on this one tool," said Mr. Sinagra. "This goes far beyond what a textbook can provide."

The decision to give only incoming freshmen the iPads has left current students asking, "Why not us?" Mr. Sinagra said.

"You have to do things incrementally, especially when it comes to starting something new," he said. "It has to be done properly, correctly and slowly before you do a full implementation."