Hundreds Protest Smith College’s Planned Closure of Fort Hill, The Largest Provider of Infant/Toddler Care in city

Protesters at Seelye Hall at Smith College ask the college to keep the Fort Hill open on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. Approximately 350 people joined the march to ask Smith College to work in consultation with the community.

Community Asks Smith College Leadership to Halt Planned Closure of Century-Old Childcare Program

NORTHAMPTON, MA, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Wednesday, October 28, hundreds of families, teachers, Smith College staff, faculty and students, and community members assembled in peaceful protest against the closure of the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill (“Fort Hill”).

The “Save Fort Hill” rally began at Pulaski Park with remarks from former Northampton mayor Clare Higgins, and supporters marched to College Hill, asking that Smith College, a historically women’s institution, reconsider their decision.

The closure, announced last week, would shutter Fort Hill on June 4th, 2027 – a move that would eliminate 29 unionized teacher jobs and exacerbate the acute shortage of infant and toddler care in Hampshire and Hampden counties.

More than 1,400 stakeholders have signed a letter to Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton asking her to reconsider the decision to close Fort Hill, including more than 45% of current Smith College faculty.

The closure of Fort Hill would worsen childcare scarcity in the region, resulting in 3.6 infants for every available infant childcare spot in Northampton and Florence. 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.

“We analyzed licensing data from the Department of Early Education and Childcare, and in cases where the data did not provide clarity on infant slots, we called childcare providers in Northampton and Florence to fill in the gap,” Poirier said. “The data shows that infant childcare just outside of Northampton is even more sparse, and if Fort Hill families are forced to look elsewhere for childcare, it will make the situation more dire for everyone.”

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. Teachers emphasize that staff affected by the planned closure are among the lowest paid staff at Smith College, and early childhood educators are predominantly women doing traditionally undervalued work.

“I am deeply disappointed that this institution, which I graduated from and at which I have worked for 13 years, is letting down the teachers I work alongside every day, the families and children I care for, and the community in which I reside,” said Malka Coburn, Smith College alum and current Fort Hill teacher. “Through our unionization process we all envisioned a bright future for Fort Hill, and Smith just wiped that away."

According to Massachusetts licensing data, Fort Hill is the city’s second-largest childcare center for children under the age of 5, and it is the largest provider of infant and toddler care. Fort Hill enrolls children from the community as well as those affiliated with Smith. Data experts working with Friends of Fort Hill estimate that the areas within 5 miles of Smith College are already short at least 700 seats for childcare under age 5.

Finn Phoenix, a community member and former Fort Hill parent who is expecting their second child, was planning to send their infant to Fort Hill and is now scrambling for care. “Not only is infant care for working families nearly impossible to find, Fort Hill is a place I trust to affirm our children’s and family’s biracial and queer identities,” Phoenix said. “This decision would be devastating for our family personally and for the broader community.”

Supporters also emphasized the impact on Smith College faculty and staff of color, who lament losing a childcare center that reflects the diversity of Smith’s campus community and affirms and celebrates children’s racial and ethnic identities.

“Fort Hill has been critical in recruiting and retaining faculty and staff of color, and in supporting them during their time in Northampton,” said Candice Price, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Dean of the Junior Class at Smith College. “Decisions like these, which eliminate critical supports for women in the workforce, are one of the mechanisms by which the gender wage gap is exacerbated.”

Dreux Richard
Friends of Fort Hill
+1 240-460-1450
saveforthillcece@gmail.com
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Families rally against planned closure of Fort Hill childcare center at Smith College