Awards and Recognitions

Beehive Science and Technology Academy is strongly positioned as one of the area’s premier STEM schools. Over the years, Beehive has got many recognitions and awards of distinctions.
Some notable achievements and recognitions are below.

2023-2024 Best High School Recognition

Beehive Academy is ranked as #1 High School in Utah and #116 Best High school in the nation by the US News.

2020-21 Best of Utah High school and 2022 BEST Middle School

Beehive has been recognized by USNEWS Report as the best High School and as the best Middle School by Niche, in the state of Utah.

Platinum Level STEM School Designation

Beehive was given Platinum STEM School Designation by the Utah State Board of Education and the STEM Action Center for the 2015/2016 school year (Beehive was one of only two schools to receive this designation).

Apple Distinguished School

Among the most recent (and possibly the most prestigious) awards given to our school was in the form of recognition as an Apple Distinguished School for 2017–2019. Recently, Apple renewed Beehive’s Apple Distinguished School status for 2019-2022. Beehive is the first and only Utah school to receive this national recognition (as of March 2020). In order to receive this honor, we had to be invited by Apple to apply for the designation. According to Apple, Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of innovation, leadership and educational excellence that use Apple products to inspire creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. These schools showcase innovative uses of technology in learning, teaching, and the school environment and have documented results of academic accomplishment. (Beehive faculty and students use iPads and other Apple technology to enhance the learning process and to simplify administrative functions. Every Beehive student is loaned an iPad for the school year.)

AP Female Diversity National Award

In March 2019, Beehive earned the College Board’s AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for attaining female student representation in AP Computer Science Principles for 2018. Among the more than 18,000 secondary schools worldwide that offer AP courses, Beehive was one of only 685 that achieved this recognition.

US News Best School in Utah

In June 2019 and most recently, this year in 2021, our school was ranked as the number one high school in the Salt Lake metro area by U.S. News and World Report. This ranking was based on college readiness (based on the percentage of 12th graders who took and passed at least one AP or IB exam in high school); college curriculum breadth (based on the percentage of 12th graders who took and passed a wide variety of AP and IB courses); reading and math proficiency (based on state assessments); reading and math performance (the difference between how students performed on state assessments and what U.S. News predicted based on a school’s student body); underserved student performance; and graduation rate.

Best Schools in Utah by Niche

Also in August 2019, Beehive was ranked by Niche as the third Best Public High School in Utah for 2020. Niche is a website that provides information on schools, companies and neighborhoods.

Best of Utah

Beehive also won Best of State awards for Best Principal and Educational Institution in 2017. In 2018, Beehive won Best of State awards for Teacher Training and Student K-12 (Eldar Muhic). Beehive’s Parent Communication and Volunteer Coordinator Judy Wald won a Best of State award in the education category in the support personnel category in 2019. In 2020, Beehive’s teacher Kerrie Upenieks won the Best of State award in the education category in the teacher category.

Charter School of the Year-2016

Beehive was named Charter School of the Year 2016 by the Utah Association of Public Charters Schools (out of approximately 130 Utah charter schools)

Utah Living Color Honoree

In August 2019, Beehive and Principal Hanifi Oguz were recognized by Utah Business magazine with a first-ever Living Color Gala award. According to the magazine, the awards recognize “those who have made it their mission to attract and foster diversity initiatives here in the state of Utah.”

Sandy City Awards

In 2019, Beehive Principal/Director Hanifi Oguz was given a Special Recognition Award by Sandy City. According to Sandy City, this award is given “For an individual, company or organization providing a unique service in or for Sandy. Something truly special, outside of normal types of service.” Sandy City also awarded Beehive’s Carol Firmage Teacher of the Year and Beehive parent, Tammy Van Amerongen, Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. In 2020, Sandy City awarded Beehive’s Megan Theorine Teacher of the Year .

Student Achievements

One example of our accomplishments in promoting STEM can be seen in our continuing success in robotics competitions. In fact, a team of Beehive students went to Houston for the FIRST (an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League Competition in April 2017. The competition required that students build and program LEGO robots designed to complete specific tasks. Beehive Robotics was one of two teams from Utah to go to Houston for this international event (47 Utah teams competed in an attempt to go to Houston). Beehive Robotics captured a third-place award in the robot game category.

In 2016, one of our teams tied for 20th in the world in the FIRST LEGO League Competition in St. Louis. The Beehive team was the only team from Utah at that competition, which included teams from every state and 40 countries—108 teams in all. The international event has been held since 1998.
Beehive’s success in FIRST LEGO League Competitions continued in 2018. Beehive’s Bionic Porcupines III represented Utah at the FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Houston in April, and Beehive’s Plan Bee team represented the state at the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Invitational held in Fayetteville, Ark. in May 2018.
In the FIRST LEGO League Competition, Beehive’s Bionic Porcupines III took first place overall and won the Champions Award. The team also won first place in the robot game. This team moved on to represent Utah at the FIRST LEGO League World Festival in Houston in April 2018.

Beehive’s Plan Bee team took third place overall and garnered an invitation to represent Utah at the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Invitational held in Fayetteville, Ark. in May 2018. Team Bee also won the Overall Project Award. The team’s top robot game score tied for third place.

In February 2019, a team that included three Beehive students advanced to the FIRST LEGO League World Festival Competition that was held in Houston April 17 through 20. In order to participate in the World Festival Competition, the Bionic Porcupines team had to move through a series of local competitions that culminated at the Utah First Lego League at Southern Utah University on Feb. 16. The Bionic Porcupines won the Champion’s Award and first place in the robot game during the event. This marked the second year in a row that the Bionic Porcupines have gone to the World Festival Competition.

Beehive’s student success can also be seen in the fact that many of our individual students have thrived. In 2016/2017, three of our students have been among Utah’s Sterling Scholar finalists. In 2018/2019, one student has been named a finalist. The Sterling Scholar program is sponsored by KSL and the Deseret News. According to the Sterling Scholar website, “A Sterling Scholar is a high school senior who is publicly recognized and awarded for the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership and citizenship in the State of Utah.

In addition, during the past three years, Beehive students have earned four gold, five silver and five bronze medals and approximately 150 gold, silver and bronze certificates and medals for Congressional Awards. According to the website about the award, “The Congressional Award is the United States Congress’ award for young Americans. It is non-partisan, voluntary, and non-competitive. The program is open to all 14- to 23-year-olds. Each level involves setting goals in four program areas: Volunteer Public Service, Personal Development, Physical Fitness, and Expedition/Exploration.

Sanjana Kargi stands among our most recent list of high-achieving females. In April 2019 as a junior, she earned the highest possible ACT composite score of 36. Only around two-tenths of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earn a top score. In the U.S. high school graduating class of 2018, only 3,741 out of more than 1.9 million graduates who took the ACT earned a top composite score of 36.

In October 2019, two female students from Beehive captured top prizes in the national Broadcom MASTERS competition for their STEM projects. Beehive eighth grade students Sidor Clare and Kassie Holt created building materials that could one day be made on Mars. This means that astronauts would not be required to bring building materials with them to build on the red planet. Clare received one of the competition’s top prizes, the $10,000 Marconi/Samueli Award for Innovation. Clare said their brick was so strong that the students had to use a concrete crusher to test it. Holt received a first place Technology Award for $3,500 and an iPad. The two Beehive students were selected from 2,348 applicants from 47 states.

Beehive student Boden is selected to the Hope Squad’s national counsel where several thousands of the schools offer peer support to their students.

Testimonials

"BSTA educators strive for perfection in every interaction with students and parents, being dedicated to using the latest methods to teach and engage students. STEM EXPO, responsive staff, robotic's program, and community involvement are some of the reasons we joined the school. Many schools work hard to prevent bullying and create a nurturing environment, but BSTA has actually done it! Thank you, BSTA, for giving me peace of mind."

"We attended an open house for Beehive Academy and it was the best decision we ever made! Right away we were impressed with their teaching philosophy and the staff. We love the personal feel. Small class size, dedicated teachers (who even give free tutoring), and great communication from the administration and teachers. They are also phenomenal at helping to prepare students for college. Our kids have really thrived in this environment. We couldn't be happier with our experience!"

"My son is in his 3rd year at Beehive and had a lot of anxiety when he first started in 6th grade and struggled to get his grades up. He received a lot of support from teachers that first year that helped him gain confidence and he now excels at school. I can email a teacher and get a response back within a day. My son loves school and is excited by what he is learning. I love CoolSis and the fact I can keep tabs on what he is doing. I am also very impressed by the staff. It's clear that each of them loves the school and cares deeply about the students The culture at Beehive is positive and inclusive. I am so excited for my other children to go to Beehive Academy!"

"We absolutely love Beehive. Small class size, dedicated and engaging teachers and phenomenal office staff, keep us coming back each year. The emphasis on STEM provides opportunities unlike any other environment. The school's Parent Communication and Volunteer Coordinator is first class and holds the school together like super glue. Thanks BSTA!"

With its focus on science and technology, Beehive has helped to prepare my son for a brighter future. The teachers are amazing and they have small class sizes. My younger children are in private school but will transfer to Beehive. I can't imagine them receiving a better education somewhere else.