Northampton residents demand Smith College reverse Fort Hill childcare center closure

NORTHAMPTON — Hundreds gathered at Pulaski Park on October 29 and marched to Smith College to demand the school reverse its decision to close the Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill on June 4, 2027. The demonstration, organized by Save Fort Hill—a group formed after the college announced the closure on October 19—drew Smith College and Fort Hill staff, families, and community members who called the decision process opaque and unilateral.

Smith College announced it would shutter Fort Hill to fund an expanded childcare benefit for employees. Under the current system, the college subsidizes childcare exclusively at Fort Hill for roughly 45 employees with children ages eight weeks to preschool. The new benefit would extend subsidies to approximately 350 faculty and staff members who use any licensed and accredited childcare provider for children ages zero to 12. The college said the shift represents a reallocation of resources, not a budget reduction.

Critics at the march said Smith College failed to consult staff, faculty, parents, the state licensing agency, or local government before announcing the closure. Kaila Goldstein, a Fort Hill infant-toddler teacher, said the college did not conduct surveys or bring childcare concerns to union bargaining. She noted that Fort Hill's 29 teachers received no warning and that the closure, combined with the shutdown of the Hampshire College Early Learning Center and the Center School in Greenfield, would eliminate about 200 childcare spots for children under five across the region.

Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton wrote in an October 19 email that the expanded benefit would give college families "the freedom to choose licensed and accredited childcare aligned with their schedules and tailored to their specific needs." Fort Hill currently charges $31,925 annually for infant full-time care during the school year; employees who qualify receive 25 percent off tuition for one child and 30 percent for others. The center serves about 80 children and is Northampton's second-largest childcare provider.

Parents and staff raised alarm about availability in the Pioneer Valley. Mehammed Mack, a Smith College faculty member, said he and other parents contacted childcare providers in town and found no open infant or toddler spots. He also said the college claimed it had warned providers about the imminent closure, but providers told him they were not informed. "The biggest tragedy here is that the administration never came to us, to parents, to staff, to members of the community," Mack said. "They never came to us to try to save Fort Hill."