High school students in the eastern part of Rockingham County will become the first classes of East Rockingham High School Tuesday.

The new high school has been in the works for more than two years.

Principal Eric Baylor has been working toward the first day of class for a year and says the hiring process for teachers ended only weeks ago.

More than 630 students are expected to start class Tuesday, but the new high school can accommodate almost twice as many kids.

School officials do expect student numbers to grow over time.

Baylor says, "The best part is bringing people to the equation. We spent the last two and a half years getting ready for students and to bring them in to the building is really the culmination of all that hard work and effort."

On Tuesday morning, 24 schools and 11,350 students headed to back to class.

East Rockingham High School is one of four new buildings Rockingham County has built in the past several years.