Dr. Kimura,

After eight years of taking Kumon math, since the summer after first grade, Rachel and her parents have decided to not continue. We have reached that point of "declining economic returns". However, the decision eight years ago for Rachel to take Kumon, and her parents' persistence in making her stick with it through some pretty confrontational years (the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades in particular) has paid off a million fold. Getting Rachel into Kumon initially with Ms. Lamb, and subsequently with you, was the most important decision we ever made regarding Rachel's education. From a little girl in the 1st grade, who was intimidated by math, we have a young lady who was able to get into gifted educational programs because of her math aptitude. Rachel starts the 10th grade this year at Metro Classical & Academic High School. She will be taking a semester of Trigonometry and a semester of Analytical Geometry. As a junior she will take Calculus. This has been made possible because of Kumon. From the bottom of all our hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you.

We will keep you posted on Rachel's progress, and we will continue to tell others about the wonders of this program. What parents need to realize is that success in math promotes success in other subjects. When students develop strong math skills, they have more time to work on their other subjects, thereby promoting their overall academic success.

Thank you very much . . . and may God bless you and yours through the years ahead.

-Branch Ball

Dear Dr. Kimura:

Sunday, my 5 year old son identified a downed electrical power line after our neighborhood's power had been down for 7 hours. When we asked him how he knew about identifying a possible cause of power outage, including the danger of touching a downed power line and the need for reporting such problem, he told us he read about it in The Boy Scout Handbook. My son readily reads a 30 year old Boy Scout Handbook which belongs to my husband. As you probably know, the Boy Scout Handbook is for Boy Scouts (5th grade through 12th grade). In addition, my son can name every planet in our solar system, the major human organs comprising the digestive system, and all the different types of crocodilians. He knows many other interesting things about the natural world also. His ability to read is his most powerful tool for exploring the world around him. Reading has given him a rich foundation for having fun and for further developing his self esteem. Thank you for making this possible. I know you deserve the credit because both my husband and I work full time in demanding careers. We are ashamed that we haven't made more time to read with our children, but we are grateful that we have given them the opportunity to study with you. Thank you!

-Susan Figenshau