Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E5: Think Big. Build Big. | Overview
In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition
Overview
What does it look like when excellence in STEM education is paired with deep belonging and cultural inclusion. In Season 3, Episode 5 of the Bold By Choice Podcast, we travel to Utah to visit Beehive Science and Technology Academy, a K–12 public charter school proving that rigorous STEM learning thrives when students feel seen, valued, and connected.
Founded nearly twenty years ago in the basement of an office building, Beehive began with a bold idea. Science and technology education should be accessible to every student, especially those from immigrant and multilingual communities. Today, Beehive serves nearly 900 students from 48 countries who collectively speak more than 60 languages, making it one of the most diverse schools in the state.
Our guest, Halis Kablan, Secondary Principal and longtime leader at Beehive, shares how that original mission continues to shape the school’s design. STEM at Beehive is not about memorizing formulas or completing worksheets. It is about experience. Students build hot air balloons and rockets, design and iterate robotics systems, and apply mathematics and engineering concepts to real-world challenges. Learning is hands-on, collaborative, and purposeful, and students see themselves as creators rather than consumers of knowledge.
That sense of purpose extends beyond the classroom. After-school robotics teams compete at state, national, and international levels. Alumni return to mentor current students. Teachers collaborate across disciplines, weaving STEM into English, music, social studies, and computer science beginning in kindergarten. The result is a school culture where curiosity is celebrated and passion is normalized.
Beehive’s success is measurable. The school has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the top high school in Utah for five consecutive years and is preparing to open a second campus in response to sustained family demand. Yet Halis is quick to emphasize that the most meaningful indicators are not rankings or trophies. They are the students who cannot stop talking about their school day, the shy sixth grader who finds confidence through robotics, and the families who see their children thriving in a community where difference is treated as strength.
As Beehive approaches its twentieth anniversary, its story serves as a reminder of what is possible when schools lead with purpose. Excellence does not require perfect conditions. It requires belief in students, trust in educators, and a commitment to building learning environments where passion and belonging drive achievement.
Listen to the Episode
🎧 Season 3, Episode 5 – “Think Big. Build Big.”
Featuring Halis Kablan, Beehive Science and Technology Academy
