Timeout results in reprimand

TAMPA -- A Lockhart Elementary School teacher who placed a 5-year-old boy into a dark timeout room in May was reprimanded this week for what school officials called "unprofessional behavior."

Trevel Gavin was isolated in the timeout room by kindergarten teacher Dorys Hawthorne because he was talking during a presentation.

Trevel's mother, Shatandra Gavin, said the boy was in the timeout room unsupervised for two hours. Hillsborough County schools spokesman Mark Hart said the boy was in the windowless room for about 40 minutes, or the equivalent of a lunch period.

The boy was put in an oversized storage closet, Hart said. The room is used for timeouts and small reading groups.

Hart said teachers should always be in view of students who are placed in timeout for misbehavior. He also 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.

There also was some question as to whether Trevel was locked inside the room and unable to get out. Hart said the small room's door was locked from the outside, but not from the inside.

"Through the eyes of the child, you can imagine the terror he went through," said Daniel Castillo, the lawyer for the Gavin family. "This finding by the school system confirms my earlier claims: There's no excuse for it."

Castillo said he and his client are unsure whether they will file a lawsuit seeking compensation for any long-term, psychological damage to the boy.

He will attend a different school in the fall, Castillo said.

The district said Hawthorne must attend a class titled, "Professionalism through Integrity" this summer. If she is involved in another incident that comes before the professional standards group, the district will recommend "serious disciplinary action."

"Your decision-making is of great concern to this district," Linda A. Kipley, the district's general director of professional standards, wrote to Hawthorne.

Hawthorne could not be reached for comment.

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