By Gazette Staff
October 31st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton District School Board (HDSB) is now accepting applications to the I-STEM (Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) program for students starting Grade 9 in the 2026-2027 school year. The regional program is open to all students within Halton and Ontario, and students can apply on the I-STEM webpage of the HDSB website (hdsb.ca).
I-STEM is a four-year program that supports students to develop innovation skills related to engineering design and design thinking, entrepreneurial thinking skills and global competencies. Students learn to be prepared for technological change and disruption, globalization and shifting demographics.
The I-STEM program offers students opportunities to engage in hands-on learning and gain practical experiences that prepare them for lifelong learning and future success.
Graduates of the I-STEM program at the HDSB have been recognized for their excellence at a national level, having been finalists and winning top national prizes in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.
The HDSB I-STEM Program is offered at:
- Aldershot School in Burlington
- Elsie MacGill Secondary School in Milton
- T.A. Blakelock High School in Oakville
2025-2026 I-STEM Key Dates
- Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 – Online Application Closes at 11:59 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 – Date by which schools will inform candidates as to the status of their application
- Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 – Last date for students to accept spot in program
Background resources
High School lunchroom was filled to capacity with parents looking for information on what was then a possible I-STEM program at Aldershot.
There was a time when I-STEM wasn’t well known, and few school boards offered the program. The Halton District School Board added the program to Aldershot High School in order to keep the school open. This took place during the period of time when the Board was closing two of the system’s seven high schools.
During the early part of that process, Central High School and Lester B. Pearson were to be closed. The Central High parents put up quite a fight – that resulted in the closing of Bateman High School instead of Central.
With Central remaining open, there wasn’t much in the way of a student population at Aldershot.
The Board went looking for new reasons to keep Aldershot open – I-Stem was the choice.
Superintendent Blackwell and Director of Education Miller expressing their surprise at the turnout for I-Stem registration at Aldershot High School in November 2018
The evening the opportunity was taken to the public, there was some doubt in the minds of school board officials on just how receptive parents would be to the idea.
It snowed that evening. Despite the poor weather, parents filled the auditorium, then the large lunch room, then the library.
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