A South Florida mother says a teacher had been bullying her young son for months at his school to the point that he was scared to go to class and she used a recording device to capture the teacher's comments.
Kandy Escotto says a kindergarten teacher at Banyan Elementary School, Rosalba Suarez, bullied her 5-year-old son to the point that she decided to transfer him.
Escotto said she brought the issue up to the school's principal and vice principal at least four or five times at the beginning of the past school year but the only action taken was moving her son to a different classroom, where his grades went from mostly "F" grades to honor roll.
"I went at least five time to the office and I spoke at least twice to the assistant principal. I spoke to the principal. They didn't really do anything about it," Escotto said.
But before he was transferred, Escotto said she sent him to school with an audio recorder and was able to capture the teacher calling her son and another classmate a "loser" several times.
"I don't care, don't do it, you think I care? Whatever your mom wants to see honey, whatever your mom wants to see, you tell me what she wants to see a nice job or she wants to see a loser's job," the teacher is heard saying in one recording.
Escotto said she wants the teacher to face consequences for what she considers verbal abuse. Her lawyers say they sent a letter to Miami-Dade Public Schools and Banyan Elementary to put them on notice that she had retained their legal representation in the matter.
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A spokesperson from the school system acknowledged that the mother and school leaders had met but on an unrelated matter. Officials said Suarez has been working at the school since 1985 and they haven't received similar complaints in the past. They also said they haven't heard the recordings so they couldn't comment on them.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools goes to great lengths to promote a culture of dignity and respect, not only among our students but with our employees. We work diligently to ensure the well-being of every child entrusted to our care," the district said in a statement. "Any action that runs contrary to the values we instill in our school community will not be tolerated. The District will conduct a thorough review of this matter and, if the allegations are substantiated, we will take any and all appropriate disciplinary actions."
