The Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education at Fort Hill Closing in 2027

I wrote a song about it called "Lyman Road".  Buy & Download for $1.50:

https://adamsweet.bandcamp.com/track/lyman-road

Listen on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/p7IsHfBJx-Y

It began in 1926 when Smith College President William Allan Neilson established the Smith College Nursery School (alongside a Day School). It opened with about 15 students, many of them children of Smith faculty. Organized as a cooperative school by the Institute for the Coordination of Women’s Interests, it offered educational opportunities for Smith graduate students and became part of the education department in 1928. For years it operated as part of the broader Smith College Campus School (with the preschool program at Fort Hill on Lyman Road and kindergarten–sixth grade at Gill Hall). Full-day options expanded in 1992 with infant/toddler and extended-day programs primarily for Smith faculty and staff. In 2003 these elements were reorganized into the distinct Center for Early Childhood Education. The program has been on Lyman Road since 1964 (on land with historical ties to 17th-century shelter for local Nonotuck people); Smith acquired the former Lyman family estate in 1946, and the current purpose-built facility with seven classrooms opened in August 2005.

In recent decades it has been led by Director Jennifer (Jen) Godlesky, who joined the teaching staff in August 2002, served as a supervising teacher across age groups, and holds a bachelor’s from Mount Holyoke and a master’s in education from Smith (plus relevant Massachusetts certifications). Assistant Director Laurie DeMello joined in 2001. Classrooms are typically staffed by a supervising teacher plus additional teachers, supported by studio teachers (art and music), rotating assistants, office staff, and Smith College work-study students. The program has served as both high-quality care and a laboratory for Smith education students and faculty research/observation. It has enrolled roughly 80–90 children (infants through preschool) in seven classrooms, with strong teacher:child ratios, and has been especially important as one of the few local options for infants. Teachers unionized with UAW Local 2322 (or related local) around 2024 and have been bargaining for a first contract.

Public records and reporting do not highlight widely famous alumni or specific “celebrity kids” who attended over the decades. As a long-running laboratory school and employee benefit primarily serving children of Smith faculty, staff, and the broader Northampton community, its impact has been more local and institutional—supporting working families, especially women in education and academia, and providing a model of relationship-based, Reggio Emilia-inspired early education focused on emotional security, play, documentation, and collaborative inquiry.

Smith announced the closure in mid-October 2026 (with families and staff learning via email, staff reportedly with very short notice). Officials, including Vice President for Human Resources Anne-Marie Szmyt, state it follows a review of childcare benefits and operations. The college frames it not as a reflection on Fort Hill’s quality or as a pure budget cut, but as a way to reallocate resources for a broader, more flexible benefit available to more eligible employees (estimated ~350): up to $2,250/year per infant/toddler (0–2), $1,250 for preschoolers, and $500 for elementary-aged children (5–12) usable at any licensed/accredited provider, including afterschool and summer programs. Currently only about 45 employees use the Fort Hill-specific benefit. College statements emphasize expanding equity of access rather than continuing to subsidize a center used by a smaller group (plus its overhead). Parents and staff have challenged this framing, noting reduced effective support for some (e.g., loss of prior deeper discounts), scarce local slots (especially for infants), and broader community impact; some have raised questions about timing relative to union bargaining, though the college has denied a link. A Monday forum with HR left many parents frustrated over limited answers on finances, alternatives, and regional capacity.

What’s next: Fort Hill will continue operating through the end of the current academic year and close on June 4, 2027; it is no longer accepting applications. Smith says it is working with other providers to hold slots for current Fort Hill families where possible and will refer employees under the new benefit. Staff retention depends in part on ongoing union negotiations; the college has not guaranteed jobs. Parents, teachers, and supporters organized a rally for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, in Northampton’s Pulaski Park to advocate for keeping the center open. The loss will reduce specialized infant care and a longstanding teaching/research resource in the Pioneer Valley, while shifting Smith’s approach from operating its own center to a portable financial subsidy. Families not affiliated with Smith face the abrupt end of a familiar program with no replacement benefit.

In short, Fort Hill has been a continuous thread of progressive early childhood education and community support at Smith for a full century—from a small cooperative nursery for faculty children to a modern multi-age center—now ending amid a policy shift toward broader but more decentralized employee benefits.