Rowland Unified started the new school year Monday with the usual hustle and bustle of students looking for their classrooms.

Killian Elementary in Rowland Heights even welcomed the kids back with 10 tables of free books.

But older students will notice the biggest changes in the district’s high schools.

Nogales High students were greeted by the steel skeletons of the massive new front wing being added to the school. Giant cranes continued to lift the steel into place for the complex.

The project will provide new administration offices and classrooms, as well as multipurpose rooms and food services. Four new buildings will revitalize the school at a projected cost of $30 million to $35 million. It will open in the fall of 2015.

Meanwhile, students are already enjoying the new classrooms renovated over the past two years. New walls and ceilings provide quiet, comfortable classrooms that save energy and lighting. A new digital infrastructure permits the latest technology for teachers and students.

Teacher Jane Richey certainly appreciates her new culinary center. Richey welcomed students to her Introduction to Cooking. The popular elective will have the young chefs cook in the eight modern kitchens featuring Jenn-Air gas stoves and microwave ovens.

The teens can watch four big-screen televisions as Richey demonstrates a cooking technique under the watchful eye of a digital camera.

Senior Pablo Villarreal was excited to be back in school. The 16-year-old wants to be an engineer and is looking forward to college next year.

So why cooking class?

“I thought it would be good to know how to cook when I go away to college,” Villarreal said. Click HERE for entire story!