WORCESTER, Mass. -- A lot of teenagers wouldn't choose to spend their summer in a classroom, but these students are. 

"It's hard to get jobs as teenagers," Jade Hill said. "Here, they let you work and they pay you and they treat you like an adult."

Jade Hill is one of the seven student mentors at Abby Kelley Foster Charter School in Worcester. She works 25 hours a week with first to fifth graders, helping them with everything from classwork to life skills.

"It's like having little friends," Hill said. "They see us as mentors and friends. They can come talk to us and play with us."

It's part of the statewide YouthWorks summer jobs program. It's giving students who might be too young to hold a job the chance to earn real-life experience with an employer. The job training gives students the skills they'll need to enter the work force.  Unlike other first jobs, this one comes with a mentor who provides real-life advice, like teaching the teens how to set up a bank account. 

Hill said the mentoring has improved her communication and allowed her to be more independent. ​

"Nice way to teach me how to save money, how to open my own bank account and how to be responsible in a way I wouldn't," Hill said. 

She's a 15-year-old with big dreams. Hill wants to be a marine biologist and said this program puts her one step closer. 

"It's learning how to have an internship," she said. "How to take things into your own hands and how to handle situations on your own. I think it helps a lot."