FAIRMONT — A three-day interactive workshop for early childhood educators is happening this week at Fairmont Elementary School.

Eleven teachers from Fairmont and the surrounding area are participating in the workshop, which is led by trainers from A Chance To Grow.

The workshop, called S.M.A.R.T., stands for Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training. Educators attending learn about children’s brain development, and how physical movement and activities stimulate and enhance learning in the classroom.

The program was created by the Minnesota Learning Resource Center. MLRC data shows that classrooms that participate in S.M.A.R.T. have higher attention and participation levels, are more motivated to learn and show higher academic achievement.

Fairmont Elementary School co-principal Michelle Rosen said educators from Fairmont have been attending the workshop for 15 years or more. She first took the program herself in 2002. While the workshop has not taken place in Fairmont for several years, local educators have traveled to nearby cities to join the workshop.

“As we get new staff, retraining is important and refresher classes are important too,” Rosen said.

The training is just for preschool, kindergarten and first-grade educators.

“They do have a session for older kids, but they’ve found that if you have a strong preK, K, 1 program, and Fairmont does, then we have found that we don’t need it since we’ve built those core systems already,” Rosen explained.

The workshop is being funded by grants from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.

Three trainers with A Chance To Grow, based in Minneapolis, came to Fairmont. Nine trainings are taking place in Minnesota this summer.

“It’s a multi-sensory approach to learning. We work on engaging all of our sensory systems to promote academic success,” said Jessica Kittleson, a trainer and educator.

She said that on the first day they build an understanding of what foundation children need to have in place physiologically so their brain and body will be prepared for learning.

“Now we know the why and understand the foundational level, so how do we take that knowledge and put it into practical application,” Kittleson said of day two.

On the third day, teachers take part in the program so they can understand what their students are going to experience.

“We give them a guided model of how to put it into their classroom and structure it into their day,” Kittleson said.

She noted that the Fairmont school district has continued to attend the trainings throughout the years.

“The school has invested in the program as a whole because they understand how important it is,” she said.