A group of Natrona County teachers, principals and administrative staff members will recommend a combination of centralized and decentralized enrollment processes for the district.

In the combination process, the district and schools split the responsibility for enrolling students. Parents can enroll their children at a school, or go directly to the district's Central Services Office.

A consistent process will be used to share enrollment information between the district, schools and families.

Certain members of the group will continue working today to finalize the design and how it will work in the future. The recommendation will then be forwarded to the Natrona County school board members for their consideration.

Superintendent Joel Dvorak said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting during the discussion.

"My interests around taking care of students and families has been met with this initial straw design," he said.

Approximately 25 people took part in the facilitated discussion on Monday, the first of two days scheduled to evaluate the best way to enroll Natrona County's students in schools.

The group spent almost six hours discussing three "straw designs" or possible outcomes for the issue. The combination design drew unanimous approval from the group, which then adjusted the design's basic outline.

Chris Frude, principal at Paradise Valley, said many of her concerns over centralized enrollment were answered during the discussion.

The combination design allows schools to have the personal relationship with parents they desire, while also providing the best customer service for families, Frude said.

"I think it addresses a lot of family needs," she said. "It will help alleviate some anxiety. It's got some merit to it."

The discussion over enrollment will continue from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Highland Park Community Church. The group will work on finalizing the details of its recommended design.

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com