Letters from Graduates

Dear Mrs. Khavinson and Mrs. Rifkin,  I have been admitted to Boston University, and would like to thank you for helping me achieve this accomplishment. Your math classes provided me with the necessary skills to become successful in math, both in school and on the SATS. I owe part of my success to you because had it not been for the Russian Math School, I might not have been where I am today. Thank you for helping me  achieve my goals! Sincerely,

- Igor Gorny - RSM graduate 2007

Dear Mrs. Rifkin and Mrs. Khavinson,
Thank you very much for teaching me and putting up with me for all these years. Its been a long, hard (and in some cases expensive) road, but the results are spectacular: 800 on both 1c and 2c. I could never have achieved such great success without your tremendous help and encouragement. Though that encouragement came in many different forms (some less friendly than others), it certainly helped get the job done. You both have had an enormous impact on my life, and for that I am eternally grateful. Now, not only do I have great scores to show colleges, but also the immense wisdom and knowledge I have gained throughout all my years at RSM. Though you will still have to deal with me directly or indirectly in camp and next year in calculus, just take this email as an early expression of thanks for all you have done for me. 'money well spent' is a huge understatement for my experiences at RSM. Once again, Thanks!

- Max Tabachnik - RSM graduate 2005

Dear Mrs Rifkin and Mrs Khavinson,
Thank you for the hours and hours of homework, for the humiliating tests, for the long, long hours at rsm, for the extra work at camp, and for all the repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition!
Thank you for the 800 on Math IIC!

- Love, Alex - RSM graduate 2005

...I took the June SAT II Math Level 1 and 2 exams and got an 800 on both, due in large part to your school. Your 2C course provided ample preparation for the exam and supplemented my high school math course well. Thank you.

- Anthony Vashevko - RSM graduate 2006

Hi Mrs. Rifkin,
I have already spoken with you on the phone but here are my SAT scores:
SAT Math - 800, SAT 2c - 790. I have also told you I'm on my way to Dartmouth College... who would've thunk? A guy like me who ran around the parking lot waving his diapers
around is going to an Ivy league school... maybe it was because I was running around without diapers that got me in (because I got recruited there for Track and Field). Either way, it's very expensive and all, so i'll have to find a job there to try and help out.
I owe a lot of this to you because you're the one who whipped me into shape for math so when it came to schoolwork, I barely did any and still got A's.
Thank you very much for being my math teacher and life mentor by giving me some life lessons that I will use throughout my life. Again, thank you very much. Sincerely,

- Dan Ostrovsky - RSM graduate 2006

Letters from Parents

'...The Russian School of Mathematics is a bright light of excellence, rigor and superlative teaching in Boston's education-rich environment. My two girls have been enrolled in the School since K and 1st grades and have excellent mathematical thinking and knowledge as a result, as measured by their performance in public school and on standardized tests. I am so very thankful to the RSM leaders and faculty for the superb mathematics education and joyful learning environment my girls have enjoyed. My girls love the school and are energized and self-actualized by their experience...'

- Western suburban Family
Mom is a PhD MBA Biotechnology Entrepreneur
Dad is a Professor

'...Through sitting in on class time during Parent Time, I have come to appreciate the deep pedagogical foundation of RSM. It is clear that RSM's environment is the result of careful development and decades of experience from bright committed well trained people, who love both math and teaching children. The school is unique (for example, they introduce algebra in first grade motivated by weights and a scale and continue building through the years) and is a committed jewel in our family's busy lives.'

- H.W.

'...RSM teaches our children to see math, to enjoy learning and to believe in themselves. Being successful at RSM requires hard work and dedication from both children and parents. Significant homework is expected and today's children have to get accustomed to a focused disciplined classroom where fun is encouraged but acting up is not tolerated. Education is a paramount value for our family. I attribute most of my girls' mathematics prowess to RSM and I am grateful for their caring and passionate teaching of our children.'

- Western suburban Family

'...My son is in RSM since grade 5. Now he is a Junior in Newton North High School. He is oficially graduated from the RSM last year, but still takes AP Math course at RSM. There are two aspects in my family relationships with RSM - math and social. Math-wise my son got an invaluable background - he got the score 750 in SAT II 2C last year. Socially, RSM was a 'second home' for my son for 7 years. Every significant event in his life was surrounded by his RSM friends: they camp together, ski together, perform on stage together, travel together, celebrated each other birthdates, bar and bat mitzvas, etc. My daughter is 8. She is in the second grade now and we are looking forward to start next year at RSM!
Thank you!'

-  Boris F.

' Dear Mrs Katz, Thank you very much for teaching my son Ivan Atochin for Math SAT II. He did a good job and passed SAT II 2c for 800! Many-many thanks for other teachers of RMS: Mrs Kozlova for spring break teaching; Mrs Rivkin for teaching SAT II 1c (Ivan got 800 last year), and Mrs Khavinson for helpful assistance and warm atmosphere in the school.'

- Olga Atochina, MD, PhD
Harvard School of Public Health