LEMOORE -- About 30 anxious seventh-grade students sat in a classroom on the West Hills College campus Friday morning and listened to their soon-to-be teacher explain what's expected of them this school year.

They followed along as Teri Simas read from a fluorescent green handout that listed algebra, geometry, genetics and cell biology as subjects they will study.

Some cheered when they heard they would be dissecting a frog and possibly a worm in their science class. Others -- mostly the girls in the class -- turned up their noses at the idea.

Although these students will be taught the same curriculum as other seventh-graders throughout the Valley, they will have a much different school year from what their peers have.

The students will attend a new charter school housed on the West Hills College campus in Lemoore.

The University Charter School, run through the Lemoore Union Elementary School District, starts Monday. The school has 60 seventh-graders, and those who qualify can take college-level classes and earn credit toward their associate of arts degree.

The school offers a welcome change to the regular middle school routine for many parents and students.

Having her 12-year-old daughter attend classes on a college campus and interact with West Hills students seemed like a good idea to Kathleen Damiani.

She attended an orientation with her daughter, Diana, on Friday, and both were excited about the opportunity. Diana is one of 12 students who tested into a college algebra class.

"I'm so grateful she has this opportunity, and I know she's got the smarts for it," Damiani said.

The charter school is a partnership between the Lemoore school district, West Hills College and California State University, Fresno. Students in teacher preparation programs at West Hills and Fresno State will help teach the seventh-graders so they can gain classroom experience.

"This is a really exciting venture," said Barbara Hioco, president of the West Hills campus in Lemoore.

"What it does for these kids is allows them to progress in the school system as fast as they want."

By next year, officials plan to have seventh- and eighth-grade students at the charter school. Within a few years, they would like to have kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

Long-range plans include getting Lemoore High School involved so students can earn their high school diploma and AA degree simultaneously.

"What we're trying to do is have a situation where a student can start preschool in Lemoore and go all the way through and get a college degree right here," said Superintendent Ron Meade.

Thirteen-year-old Travis Wells said he's ready to start school Monday. He hopes to take some mechanics classes on campus while he completes his other academic course work.

"We'll have a lot more opportunities out here," he said. "I'm really excited."

Travis and the other students in the program toured the West Hills campus during their orientation Friday. They saw the science lab where they will conduct experiments and the computer lab where they will learn Excel and Microsoft Word.

The students also will have access to the college's library and can buy lunch from the snack bar and cafe on campus.

The 12 students who tested into the college algebra class will be taught by a West Hills professor. Some college students may join their class.

The regular seventh-grade curriculum will be taught by two teachers. Simas will teach math and science, and Rhett Kenney will teach social studies, language arts and reading.

"To get in on the ground floor with something like this is an incredible opportunity," said Simas, a teacher for the past 11 years. "I just wanted to be a part of it."

Some parents were concerned about having seventh-graders on the same campus as adults, but school officials emphasized that the students would be in their own classrooms and closely monitored by teachers.

They also urged each student to wear a watch because there are no school bells on a college campus.

"It is a little daunting, but it sounds like the administrators have it together," said Levi Mote, whose 11-year-old daughter, Robyn, is enrolled at the charter school.

"I really think this is an investment in her future."