The Collinsville High School Student Advisory/Rotary Interact Club recently completed their mission to provide a headstone for late Collinsville educator Everett Singleton who passed away in 1970.

Singleton, who was inducted into the Kahok Hall of Fame in 2024, was a well-known Collinsville educator whose story spans the period of segregation and desegregation in the community.  

When CHS students in the Student Advisory/Rotary Interact Club learned that Singleton’s grave in St. John Cemetery did not have a marker, they decided to raise funds and provide one.  

Through fundraisers, such as a Dine-to-Donate event, as well as donations from community members, the group raised $1,690 to purchase the headstone from LaFrank Monument Co. in Collinsville. St. John Cemetery donated the concrete base for the headstone in support of the students' efforts. 

In addition to his name and dates, the stone includes a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that reflects Singleton’s life as a dedicated educator and community leader: “We must remember that intelligence is not enough.  Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

Everett W. Singleton was born in 1914 and grew up during segregation on Summit Avenue in the heart of Collinsville’s longstanding black neighborhood.  He attended Lincoln School For Blacks on Goethe Avenue and later attended Illinois State Normal University (ISNU) to become a teacher.  After graduating, Singleton returned to Collinsville to become a teacher, and later principal, at Lincoln School. 

Local Collinsville historians believe Mr. Singleton’s leadership and character were among the factors that led the board of education to close Lincoln School in the 1950s and integrate the students and staff into other district schools.  Singleton became a sixth grade teacher at Summit Elementary and later Webster Elementary School, where he served until his sudden death in 1970.  (For more information: Kahok Hall of Fame 2024 Distinguished Achievement Inductee Everett Singleton.) 

The Collinsville High School Interact Club is affiliated with Collinsville Maryville Caseyville (CMC) Rotary Club #3215.

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What is a Rotary Interact Club?

An Interact club is a Rotary International service club for young people aged 12 to 18 that focuses on leadership development and community service. The clubs are sponsored by a local Rotary club and require members to complete at least one community service project and one project that promotes international understanding each year. Members gain leadership skills, learn about other cultures, and make new friends through their projects and activities.