Mother says teacher locked up her son, 5

The school district investigates an incident at Lockhart Elementary.

By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 7, 2002

TAMPA -- School officials are investigating an allegation that a teacher at Lockhart Elementary School locked a 5-year-old boy in a dark timeout room last week and forgot about him for two hours.

Shatandra Gavin said her son, Trevel, was placed in a windowless timeout room about noon last Wednesday by kindergarten teacher Dorys Hawthorne because he was talking during a presentation. About 20 minutes later, the class went to lunch and then to recess.

Gavin's attorney, Daniel Castillo, said the boy was not discovered until about 2 p.m., when a teacher's aide opened the timeout room door and discovered him inside crying.

"We're talking about a 5-year-old child who was told to go into a room and told not to move and then left there all alone for two hours," he said. "I can't believe this is acceptable disciplinary procedure. It's unconscionable."

Hawthorne, who could not be reached for comment, has not been placed on leave or suspended.

Gavin said Hawthorne's teaching license should be revoked.

"Why is she still in the classroom teaching? I don't know," she said. "That lets me know they aren't taking me seriously at all."

Hillsborough schools spokesman Mark Hart said an internal investigation is under way, but the facts of the incident are in dispute.

Hart said the room where the boy was placed, which he described as "an oversized storage closet" used for timeout and small group reading, does not lock from the inside.

"You can't get locked in there," he said.

But Hart said children who are placed in timeout for misbehaving should always be visible by a teacher. He said there are no specific time limits for how long a child should be in timeout, but generally teachers give students one minute for every year of age.

-- Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright