Comments below are from faculty at institutions around the country who have sent their students to the Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian. In addition, there are comments from faculty who teach American students in Russia on study abroad programs who have taught "alumni" of the Davis School of Russian.

The Middlebury School of Russian is always the first place I recommend to our undergraduate and graduate students for intensive summer language study. This is a serious program and the only one in which our students make significant progress during the summer. I have taught many years in this program myself, and I know well the high quality of teaching that takes place at Middlebury.
– Frank Miller, Columbia University

I'm delighted to share our gratitude and appreciation for the stellar job Middlebury has done in taking our talented beginners in Russian and turning them into proficient, self-confident, impeccably trained intermediate and advanced students.  A summer under [Middlebury's] tutelage has been a rock solid investment of time and energy.  Among the current crop of majors [who have attended the Middlebury School of Russian in the last two years, all] have returned from summers at Middlebury with a superior understanding of the language structure, dramatically enhanced competence, and a significantly refined appreciation for aspects of Russian culture.
– Lena Lencek, Reed College

Since I began working in the Russian Department at Wellesley College eight years ago, my colleagues and I have been sending our students to Middlebury's summer program at the Davis School of Russian. There are some very good reasons why I keep recommending Middlebury to my students year after year. Those students who apply to Middlebury after a year of Russian instruction at Wellesley regularly come back the next fall and aquit themselves easily of our challenging third-year Russian course. Several of our students have completed the advanced course at Middlebury after two years of Russian at Wellesley and then gone directly from the Davis School of Russian to Russia for a semester or year of study abroad. Middlebury has proved a wonderful preparation for these students, too, and some of them have joked that they spoke more Russian at Middlebury than in Russia. Or was it a joke? In all of my experience with the Russian Program, I have been very impressed with my students' progress over the summer: they return with markedly improved speaking, writing and comprehension skills. I can say with confidence that Middlebury has helped make our department become a place where Russian is spoken.
– Adam Weiner, Wellesley College

I'm particularly pleased by the multiple levels and excellent placement that Middlebury offers so that our students are ensured of taking courses at the level that is best for them. We encourage our students to spend a summer at Middlebury and not only do they make great gains, but return to our classes excited and energized by their progress.
– Patricia Chaput, Harvard University

The Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian is one of the finest summer language programs in the country. Over the years it has helped train countless undergraduate and graduate students of Russian language, literature, politics, music and other area studies. Having been given the chance to become truly comfortable with the language and culture in a more protected setting, these students tend to hit the ground running as soon as they land in Russia; they are able to begin pursuing their goals immediately.
– Lisa Little, University of California, Berkeley

The Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College offers a unique combination of very intensive language training and cultural exposure, which makes this program a most rewarding and wonderful experience for both students and teachers.  There is no better place to be to become proficient in Russian.
– Mikhail Palatnik, Washington University (St. Louis)

The Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College offers the best intensive Russian-language program in the United States.  I encourage my students to attend because I know that they will return with improved listening and conversation skills, better knowledge of Russian grammar, and renewed enthusiasm for language study.  The School offers generous financial aid packages which make its programs accessible to students from a variety of backgrounds.
– Emily Johnson, University of Oklahoma

The Davis School of Russian has [also (put in whatever adverb goes here)] served as a home away from home for students at the George Washington University (Washington, D.C.). Whether preparing for intensive study abroad or making the final push to reach the GW language proficiency requirement (Intermediate High in speaking for a number of majors, both graduate and undergraduate), students have turned to Middlebury's intensive summer program for results. They have not been disappointed.
– Richard Robin, George Washington University

I have been working with American undergraduate and graduate students at the ACTR Program in St. Petersburg (at Herzen Pedagogical University) for many years.  The preparation of these exchange students varies:  many of them have good grammar, while many are better prepared in the area of lexicon and still others are focused on the study of Russian within the context of their particular major discipline.  In recent years we've had some exchange students at Herzen University who have come to us directly from an intensive summer program at the The Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College  Just like other exchange students, they also vary in their Russian language preparation.  Nonetheless, there are several significant details that mark these students as different from all the others.  First, these students are psychologically prepared to understand Russian life and Russian culture.  This is clear not only from the fact that they are not afraid to speak Russian (because their communicative speaking skills in Russian are well developed) but also from the activeness with which they participate in class activities.  In class they strive to use their knowledge to its fullest and to support their classmates.  Second, these young men and women, as a rule, have a good lexical base.  I emphasize that they use the lexicon precisely (as required in one or another communicative situation).  It's clear that these lexical units were systematically studied and that the students did a lot of work to master them.  Third, these undergrad and graduate students are very grammatically accurate in their Russian speech.  They correct their own errors, even in spontaneous speech.  Moreover, they fully understand the importance of deeper and more nuanced study of grammatical constructions. They want to know even the tiniest nuances distinguishing potential synonyms.  I think that the Davis School of Russian does a great job:  it teaches students to approach the Russian language with tenderness and respect.

– Liudmila Kozhevnikova, Docent, Russian As a Foreign Language Department, Gertsen State Pedagogical University. St. Petersburg, Russia (ACTR Study Abroad Program)
[translated by Benjamin Rifkin / all emphasis is the author's own]

The Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian at Middlebury College really gives students on CIEE's Petersburg based Russian Language program a head start.  They arrive already prepared for an all Russian environment, and are consistently among the best students in the group.  Because they hit the ground here running, so to speak, they are better able to make the most of their in-country experience.
– Nathan Longan, Resident Director, Council on International Educational Exchange Program at St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia