The YMCA Child Care Program closed operations at NECC’s Haverhill campus this fall for a number of reasons. 

Several staff members recently spoke with this reporter about the transition of the child care space leaving D building (the sports and fitness center) and the content that will take up the space in the future. 

Nicole Pyburn, assistant director of the NECC athletic department, knows the primary reason behind this absence. “The program moved to another YMCA location in Haverhill,” Pyburn said.

Notable factors that caused this relocation to the YMCA of Haverhill were due to a lack of classroom space, along with construction, WHAV.net said. There was also at least one other major factor involved with this situation.

“I wasn’t involved in the decision, but the lease for the child care program to rent space expired,” Dan Blair, athletic director at NECC, said. “The police academy is moving into the space.”

Dana Margolis, facility director at NECC, provided some additional information regarding the space. “There will be new classrooms in D building,” Margolis said. These classrooms will be used by the police academy when renovation is completed. The former child care classrooms are currently receiving floor change and makeovers.

The child care program has removed belongings and items from their old location on the right side of D building, including the playground that has stood outside for years. The playground was torn down on Sept. 8. The program itself closed after a final day of classes on Aug. 27.

The program will be missed by several faculty members and people who work for NECC, including Keith Walker, director of canine operations and lieutenant of the police department, who is known by most students for going on walks with Winnie, the therapy dog at NECC. 

“The kids in the program will miss seeing the dog,” Walker said. “It’s the end of an era.”

The child care program originally opened its doors to NECC in January of 2021 as a new location for the ongoing YMCA child care services in the  Merrimack Valley, according to the NECC newsroom site.