The Issaquah School District broke ground this week for the district’s newest elementary school, currently known as Elementary 15.

Sara Niegowski, the director of communications for the Issaquah district, said there is currently a strange dynamic in which the district has been growing rapidly for the last 15 years, but recently the district’s population had leveled off.

However, there continues to be growth in pockets along the Plateau, creating a strong need for a new elementary school, she said.

It is hoped Elementary-15 would fill this need.

“It’s crowded up there right now,” she said of the other elementary schools on the Plateau. “This is pressure release.”

Once finished, the school’s maximum capacity will be 580 students, but Niegowski said because of the school’s boundaries the district is looking at putting approximately 530 students in the new building.

“I am very excited,” said Robin Earl, who will be the principal of the new elementary, at the groundbreaking ceremony. “We’re going to be building futures. To me that’s the exciting part.”

Steve Crawford, the director of capital projects for the district, said the building, like other recent builds within the district, will meet the state’s school sustainability protocol. He said things like higher ceilings, more daylight and outdoor lights which will switch off automatically when it’s bright enough outside will help the school save energy and money.

The next big step in the process, after the groundbreaking, is to choose a name for the school.

Construction at the 13.5 acres site on Southeast 20th Street began last week, and is expected to be completed before the beginning of the 2010 school year.