How Jordan School District uses data to power purposeful career fairs

Introduction

In Utah’s Jordan School District, educators wanted to do more than host traditional career fairs, they wanted to make them purposeful and actionable. By combining aptitude and interest data from YouScience, the district built intentional experiences that helped students connect their natural talents to real-world career opportunities.

After achieving their goal of having 90% of middle school students in 7th and 9th grades complete YouScience Aptitude & Career Discovery, Jordan’s career and technical education (CTE) team analyzed the results to identify career clusters where student aptitudes outpaced interest. That analysis revealed a striking discovery: districtwide, students had 14 times more aptitude than interest in finance-related careers. It was a lightbulb moment that led to the creation of new, data-driven career fairs designed to spark engagement and fill CTE pathways with the right students.

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Challenge

Helping students explore the right pathways and fill programs with purpose

Jordan School District’s CTE team wanted to give students authentic exposure to career options, but traditional career fairs weren’t always effective. Large events often included entire grade levels, leading to disengaged students, frustrated educators, and underwhelmed employers.

To create a more meaningful experience, the district set a goal for 90% of middle school students in 7th and 9th grades to complete the YouScience brain games and use the results to intentionally invite aptitude-aligned students to right-fit career fairs. When that milestone was reached, they analyzed the district wide data and discovered clear trends and untapped opportunities to guide their next steps.

“We’ve tried multiple formats. Sometimes when it’s the entire grade that participates, you get a lot of kids who aren’t necessarily engaged, which is then a turnoff to our industry partners, and can be difficult for our teachers to manage.”

Julie Scherzinger, CTE Consultant, Jordan School District

Solution

Using aptitude and interest data to power purposeful career events

By analyzing exposure gaps in the data, the Jordan School District CTE team identified where students had high aptitude but low interest, starting with finance and construction. They used these insights to design events that would introduce students to new career possibilities and real employers.

At the Money Makers Mashup, students with aptitudes for finance were invited to attend, while employer partners were selected based on student interest data. For example, students who liked sports met finance professionals who managed budgets for the local minor league baseball team. Others discovered financial roles in industries like theater or event management. One student, an aspiring athlete, realized he could pursue a career in baseball without being a player, shifting his perspective entirely.

“My son attended the finance event,” said Jennifer Price, Work-Based Learning Specialist with Jordan School District. “He said, ‘Mom, I never knew I could combine sports and finance. I had no idea that was something I could do.’ That was a really impactful moment for me as a parent.”

At the Construction Career Fair, students with strong construction-related aptitudes were invited to tour facilities, hear from guest speakers, and participate in hands-on projects like building toolboxes and exploring tiny house construction. The event helped promote the district’s new Construction Management program and filled its program and classes with highly engaged students.

Afterward, the Jordan School District conducted a STEM event, inviting 550 students with aptitudes to attend.

“We did a STEM event using YouScience data to invite best-fit students after the finance and construction event. We asked them how many STEM careers they learned about today that they didn’t know before the event. 94% of students reported learning about three or more careers.”

Jennifer Price, Work-Based Learning Specialist, Jordan School District

The impact

From data to discovery, and from discovery to enrollment

The results have been transformative for students, teachers, and employers alike. Before the finance event, only 25% of students expressed interest in finance careers. Afterward, nearly 80% did, with 46% reporting very strong interest. Similarly, construction interest rose from 15% to 88% after the event. The targeted approach didn’t just increase student interest, it also impressed employers.

The impact went far beyond student engagement. The district saw measurable increases in CTE enrollment as a direct result of the events. Thirty-four percent of students who attended the finance fair enrolled in a finance CTE pathway, and 26% of construction fair attendees enrolled in a construction CTE program. These results validated the district’s data-driven approach and showed how targeted exposure can directly influence students’ next steps.

Educators also discovered new efficiencies. By using aptitude and interest data to invite curated groups of best-fit students, the district maximized its career fair budget, reduced transportation and logistical costs, and ensured every seat on the bus was filled with students who genuinely wanted to be there.

Teachers noted higher classroom motivation, parents expressed newfound excitement about their students’ strengths, and students began seeing themselves in careers they had never considered before.

“After the career fairs, our industry partners said, ‘Where did these kids come from? They are amazing.’ That was an unintended consequence of having the right kids with the right aptitudes in front of industry partners. Now all of a sudden, the kids were engaged.”

Julie Scherzinger, CTE Consultant, Jordan School District

Looking ahead:

Expanding the model to more career clusters

Following the success of the finance and construction fairs, Jordan School District expanded its use of YouScience data to plan larger events, including a 550-student STEM career experience with a 200-student waitlist. Future plans include hosting more career cluster–specific events and providing regional data to help industry partners engage with the right students.

Scherzinger envisions a broader regional collaboration where nearby districts can build on Jordan’s model to host even more targeted career fairs.

Price encourages other districts to take an incremental approach. “My best advice would be to start small,” she said. “We started this at one of our middle schools. They did guest speakers and had students apply to listen to the group speakers, then took a group of students with aligned aptitudes on an industry tour. Start small and learn the processes before you scale it.”

Scherzinger added that intentional planning is key to meaningful outcomes. “I would say look at your strategic plan and see how YouScience can be woven in,” she said. “YouScience provides intentionality and direct results that benefit your students, your industry partners, and your community.”

By combining strategy, scalability, and student-centered data, Jordan School District is building a blueprint for how other districts can connect education to workforce with purpose.

“Our district only has the capacity to host a few events a year. If we can work with other districts to host additional events and invite students from surrounding areas, we can create more aligned opportunities for students, and help industry partners find the right talent for internships, apprenticeships, and career programs.”

Julie Scherzinger, CTE Consultant, Jordan School District

Final results at a glance: