Collinsville High School has a new School Resource Officer, Rebecca Temple. In an attempt to make her transition here run smoothly, it is important to become familiar with her. After joining the school’s safety personnel and  her direct involvement in the protection and well-being of CHS students, I got the opportunity to interview Officer Temple in order to get to know her better:

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: “I grew up in Belleville, Illinois and graduated from Belleville West!”

Q: Where did you go to college?

A: “I went to college at SWIC and then at Lindenwood University. I graduated with a bachelors in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology.”

Q: What made you want to be a police officer?

A: “While in college, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I thought about becoming a counselor or Psychologist but then I took a criminal justice class and I was hooked. I have always loved true crime and those types of TV shows and thought it would be so cool to be able to do that in real life. I started as a dispatcher for the O’Fallon Police Department in 2016 and loved it but did not quite feel fulfilled. I didn’t like not having face to face interaction with people, so I went on to take a job as a Police Officer with the Collinsville Police Department in 2018.”

Q: How did you end up at Collinsville High School?

A: “In 2021, I had a baby! His name is Theo and he is my whole world. I knew that working nights/weekends would be difficult with a new baby, especially because my husband is also a police officer. When a spot opened up at CMS, I knew it would be perfect for my family. I also had a difficult high school career and wanted to make a positive impact on the students here at CHS. I knew that even if I had a positive impact on just one student, that would be so worth it!”

Q: How has your experience been so far at Collinsville High School? 

A: “I love it here at CHS. The staff and students have been so welcoming to me and we have a lot of fun here.”

Q: What has been the biggest challenge?

A: “The biggest challenge for me has been transitioning from working 12 hour days and nights to working Monday through Friday.”

Q: Is there anything you’ve noticed that should be changed to improve the school’s security?

A: “I think that since I’ve gotten here we have already made huge improvements in school security. We are doing so much better with keeping classroom doors locked and shut, exterior doors are secured better than ever, and there are always things changing and improving. We have even limited the number of entry points at the start of this school year. Adding more security personnel would be a dream, but I think we do a really great job.”