Representatives from the architecture and design firms charged with building Natrona County's newest elementary school met with parents, teachers and community members last week to begin working on how the school will look.

Lee Skolnick, of Lee H. Skolnick Architecture and Design Partnership, said he was surprised by the enthusiasm expressed in Thursday's first meeting. The firms were initially concerned about receiving community feedback from the project.

"This was great," Skolnick said. "I think we were really spoiled by this group."

The new school will serve kindergarten through fifth-graders, include 22 classrooms and cover a total of 57,000 square feet. The school should open in August 2010.

Ideas proposed for the building included an indoor playground, using wind, solar and other sustainable energy and creating smaller learning environments for students.

Trudi Holthouse lives on the eastside of Casper, where the district plans to build the new elementary. She attended a meeting on Thursday to offer her ideas on the future building.

"This would be my neighborhood school," Holthouse said. "I would like to see a shift in the district's ideas on education."

Like Skolnik, Holthouse was also happy with how Thursday's meeting turned out.

"It made me excited for the future of education in Natrona County," she said.

Design work on the school will begin as early as Dec. 8, the tentative date for the design charrette's first meeting. A principal for the school could be named in late February.

"This is an aggressive schedule," Skolnik said. "The need for the school is apparent. We don't want to lose the dialogue and the community involvement."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com. Read her blog at my.trib.com/jasasantos.