Supporters of Fort Hill (Smith College) Childcare Program Welcome Reversal of Closure Decision

Smith College President Willie-LeBreton announces that Fort Hill, previously scheduled to close in June of 2027, will operate at least through summer of 2029

NORTHAMPTON, MA, UNITED STATES, November 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Supporters of the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill (“Fort Hill”) celebrated the reversal of the college’s October 19th decision to shutter Fort Hill in June of next year. The reversal follows a peaceful rally and march from downtown Northampton onto the campus of Smith College on October 28th, which drew more than three hundred participants. Several elected officials, including Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra (Smith Class of ’96), have issued public statements in support of keeping Fort Hill open.

In emails sent on the afternoon of Friday, October 30th, Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton announced that Fort Hill will remain open through at least summer 2029, advising that further details would be forthcoming, and identifying December 2027 as a target date for determining “next steps” in addressing the future of Smith College’s childcare policies and resources.

Supporters of Fort Hill welcome the reversal and maintain that their ultimate goal is that Fort Hill remain open well beyond 2029, that Smith works with the community to increase equitable access to early childhood education at Fort Hill, and that Smith College finalizes a fair contract with the Fort Hill Teachers Association. Fort Hill teachers voted unanimously to unionize in September 2024 with goals to improve working conditions and preserve the quality of Fort Hill’s early childhood education program. They have been bargaining in good faith for their first contract with Smith College for over a year.

“The decision to keep Fort Hill open through summer 2029 means a lot to us and to the children in our care, who need stability. But our jobs and Fort Hill’s future still aren’t secure,” said Malka Coburn, Smith College alum who has been teaching at Fort Hill for 13 years “We still need a fair first contract for teachers and a long-term plan for Fort Hill which helps increase access for families, and we’ll keep fighting for both.”

Supporters of Fort Hill are continuing their efforts to ensure a stable and secure future for early childhood education at Fort Hill amidst an already severe childcare crisis in the region. Lindsay Poirier, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Statistics & Data Sciences at Smith College, reports that analyses conducted by Smith College faculty provide empirical evidence that the region already qualifies as a “childcare desert” for infant care. Closing Fort Hill would worsen childcare scarcity in the region, resulting in 3.6 infants for every available infant childcare spot in Northampton and Florence. According to Massachusetts licensing data, Fort Hill is the city’s second-largest childcare center for children under the age of 5, and the largest provider of infant and toddler care. Fort Hill enrolls children from the community as well as those affiliated with Smith.

Fort Hill families and other community members will meet with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care the week of November 2nd to discuss their concerns and emphasize the center’s importance to the broader regional childcare infrastructure. On behalf of concerned families and community members, Smith College Assistant Professor of Government Cheng Xu has submitted a Request for Information to Smith’s administration about the process behind the closure decision, with the goal of making future discussions transparent and collaborative. Fort Hill supporters will also attend FHTA’s next public bargaining session with Smith College on November 9th.

The community’s swift response to Smith’s plans to close the second largest early childcare program in town shows the importance of this educational institution to the broader community, and the deep love for the school and its teachers.

Community organizing around the closure announcement benefited from comprehensive local media coverage and Fort Hill supporters remain eager to share ongoing developments as widely as possible.

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About Friends of Fort Hill: Friends of Fort Hill is a group of families, educators, Smith College faculty, staff, and students, and community members who have joined together to ask Smith College to stop the closure of Fort Hill to protect vital childcare and key unionized teacher jobs.

Dreux Richard
Friends of Fort Hill
+1 240-460-1450
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