A recording reportedly caught a Florida kindergarten teacher calling a 5-year-old student a “loser”—and now the boy’s mom is demanding answers.

Speaking with the Miami Herald, Kandy Escotto said she noticed a change in her son, Aaron, last fall, which entailed him bringing home bad grades and dreading going to school. She recalled doing homework with her son when he told her that he was a bad boy.

Escotto said her son claimed his teacher would call him a bad boy when he didn’t do his work.

The concerned mother claimed she expressed concern to the principal about Rosalba Suarez, who had been named teacher of the year this year at Banyan Elementary School in Winchester. However, the principal said she would have to prove the 33-year veteran educator was bullying her son, she said.

This reportedly led Escotto to place a recorder in Aaron’s backpack. WPLG reported that Suarez was heard saying “Aaron, y tu is a losers” after the 5-year-old asked her a question.

The recording apparently also captured the teacher berating Aaron for not knowing how to bubble in his answers.

“Raise your hand if you know how to bubble?” the woman asked. “Aaron doesn’t know. It’s simple.”

Suarez is also accused of telling Aaron that she felt “sorry” for his mom.

“You still don’t know how to write,” she said. “I don’t know what to say to your mom. She is driving me crazy. Why is she driving me crazy?”

“I feel sorry for your mom. I really do. She is a little lost.”

Escotto claimed she spoke to school officials about the situation at least five times. She also said she spoke with Suarez about her alleged treatment of her son but was met with arrogance.

“She said she didn’t like Aaron’s behavior. I don’t understand why,” the mother said.

Miami-Dade County Public School District spokesperson Jackie Calzadilla confirmed that the principal met with Aaron’s parents but that she was unaware of the recording’s existence. However, reports indicated that Suarez hasn’t been reprimanded and continues to teach classes at Banyan.

Though it’s illegal in Florida to record someone without their consent, Escotto’s lawyer argued that the teacher had no right to privacy in a public classroom.

Aaron has since been removed from the classroom, an outcome that Escotto said has done wonders for her son. Despite this, she told the Herald that she’s unsure whether Aaron and her 10-year-old daughter will return to Banyan Elementary this fall.

“After I changed him from the class, he did really well,” she told WPLG. “He went to honor roll. His grades changed and he’s happy now.”

[Featured Image: Aaron/WPLG]