4 year old says daycare teacher hurt him

First and foremost, I know 4 year olds aren’t known for their reliability and honesty. I am trying to be very neutral and calm in this scenario, while also doing my due diligence as a parent.

Our school has had quite a bit of turnover lately and I really empathize with ECE. I have so much respect for you guys and appreciate all of the teachers who pour their heart and souls into these kids. You guys are severely undervalued and underpaid and it’s criminal. I have always supported our school and tried my best to show every teacher my appreciation.

Currently there is a “floater” teacher that I haven’t had much interaction with. She’s not super warm and bubbly, but this has never phased me. She just seemed quiet. I have a great relationship with the other teachers and they all go out of their way to show my two boys (4 and 2) a lot of love. That’s the only reason this floater teacher’s personality even registered for me because it was so different than what I’m used to with the others. But again, I never thought twice about this until now.

Two days ago my four year old says this teacher hurt his arm. I simply asked what he meant and if he could show me. He gestured that she yanked his arm. In my head I was like okay that’s not cool, but I’m not gonna freak out. I know that sometimes an innocent arm grab or even a more firm arm grab can be taken as a severe offense to a 4 year old. But I was like “thank you for telling me, I’m really sorry that happened” and left it at that. Just thinking to myself that I would keep that in mind and see if anything else comes up.

The next day (yesterday), he gets in the car and says this teacher hurt him again. I didn’t ask about it, I didn’t even get a chance to ask about his day. I asked what happened and he said “she grabbed my mouth and twisted my lip.” And I was thinking that’s a weird thing to do? And asked for more details. He showed me by grabbing my cheeks/mouth pretty aggressively and then grabbed my lower lip and twisted it. Now I’m thinking like oh I’m about to haul my kids back into school and ask wtf is going on, but I decided to chill out. Again I really tried to not lead my 4 year old into anything or let him see that this was very concerning to me. I asked how he felt about it, what happened before, who was around, just super calm and trying to get a few details. He said she was angry and that his bff was there trying to “protect him” (his words). I thanked him for telling me and I said I will talk to dad about it and we can all work together to figure it out.

This morning I went to drop off with them (dad usually takes them solo) and we sat with the director. I started off by saying I wasn’t trying to make any accusations and I’m just looking to clarify and make sure I’m protecting my child first and foremost. They were so supportive and open and I am relieved about that, but I’m still waiting to hear back what they can find out via the cameras and talking with other teachers.

I guess I’m looking for any wisdom, support, or advice. I’ve never been in this situation and I want to make sure I’m doing what I need to do not only for my son, but for the school if it should come back as a total misunderstanding. Or worst case scenario if it did happen how he stated, what do I do then?