Concord River Institute

  • What do you see?

  • A poem

  • A song

  • A river

  • A city

  • Cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, alizarin crimson,
    and titanium white

  • The equation for the surface area of ice crystals

  • You

Welcome to our interim site.
While we’re building a richer, more interactive site, let us tell you a little about how we’re building a richer, more interactive educational experience.

The Concord River Institute is a school for schools.

By reexamining and rethinking the relationship between a teacher, a student, and the curriculum, our goal is to help improve education within classrooms and throughout districts around the country for students of all backgrounds and abilities.

Imagine the possibilities. If lines between disciplines were dissolved and if schools opened their doors to the world… if students were to become teachers and teachers had the chance to become learners again…if students, teachers, and administrators worked together to better understand the link between teaching and learning…and if through this process, each member of a school community helped to envision and sustain the very purpose the institution.

“We try to disabuse our students of the idea that they somehow have more or less to offer than any other student, or that somehow their voice matters less than the teacher's voice; if we are all part of this exploration, and if the exploration is open-ended and connected to our own lives, we of course all have something of value to bring to the discussion.”
– Michael Goodwin

The learning experience at the Concord River Institute is active, not passive, and process is valued over performance. We invite all members of our learning community to step out of their comfort zones and into new territories where growth really occurs. We assist all learners in appraising where they are, developing a strategy for improvement, and creating tools to share their learning with others.

The Concord River Institute is not just a school; we are a school for schools. By reexamining and rethinking the relationship between a teacher, a student, and the curriculum, our goal is to help improve education within classrooms and throughout districts around the country for students of all backgrounds and abilities.

For more information or to help support the creation of the institute, please contact Michael Goodwin at mgoodwin@concordri.org or 978-831-2728

Michael was recently named one of our nation’s most passionate and innovative teachers. To learn more about his teaching philosophy, please read American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom: www.welcomebooks.com/americanteacher