In her first year serving as principal of Indian Trail Elementary School, Emily Stubbs already is looking ahead to fall and winter school events.

“There are a lot of fun activities on the calendar to keep the kids rolling and having fun at school, while also learning,” said Stubbs, who recently met with the school’s PTA to help coordinate the Halloween parade and parties, the book fair and winter parties.

Those activities are essential to the student experience, said Stubbs, a Naperville resident.

“Those are the experiences that they remember. It is important to learn to read, write and do math facts, but the fun things are the things that they hold on to,” Stubbs said.

As a first-year principal, Stubbs is enjoying the opportunity to be “involved in a little bit of everything.”

Now, she can focus on the entire school and help it grow through different areas including its positive student behavior system, staff development and special education.

Despite an official start date of early August, Stubbs spent the summer meeting with teachers and staff to “get my feet wet.”

In addition, over the summer construction at Indian Trail including work on securing the vestibule and upgrading air conditioning was completed.

“There still are some punch list items being worked through,” Stubbs said. “But the heavy lifting of construction is done. The packing was done last spring and teachers were able to unpack before the school year started.”

Indian Trail has just less than 300 students and about 70 staff members including those who work in the district’s preschool program as well as students who are on the autism spectrum. Both are located within Indian Trail’s walls.

“We want everyone who walks through the doors of Indian Trail to be involved,” she said.

“Indian Trail is an inclusive welcoming community,” Stubbs said, “Every conversation I get to have whether it is students, parents, teachers or staff members, I am absorbing and learning so much more about everything here about what makes Indian Trail and Downers Grove Grade School District 58 so special.”

One of the more challenging parts of her new role, Stubbs said, was learning the nuances and different systems of two separate school districts and immersing herself in the new system.

“It has been a great learning experience,” she said, and already in the first months of the new school year she is moving forward different aspects of her new role.

And even though her loyalties may have changed from the “Gators” to the “Stallions,” thanks to one school colors remaining the same – blue – she can continue to wear some of the spirit wear from her former school.

Previously, Stubbs had been the student services coordinator at Aurora’s Gombert Elementary School in Indian Prairie School District 204.

There she worked with the special education team, identifying students for gifted programs, the English language learner program and staff development.

Previously, she was an interventionist and a fourth grade teacher in District 204.

Stubbs earned both a master’s degree in education-reading and literacy and a master’s degree in education-educational leadership from Benedictine University.

In addition, she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from North Central College and a special education endorsement from National Louis University.