Mr. Borodin, as related by Mr. Hyman Bolotin, his associate at that time, arrived in Chicago about 1906. He began learning English with great zeal. Having had a good education in Russia, he mastered English very rapidly. He then resolved to teach English to other immigrants.

As the influx of immigrants was then at its height, Mr. Berg wasted no time in making his dream a reality. He opened a school at Division and Hoyne Street under the name of Berg Preparatory School. He obtained a staff of competent instructors. Mr. Berg knew the immigrant psychology well. He also knew of the difficulties the Jewish students encountered during the tsarist regime, and their hunger for knowledge. He therefore 2drew a great number of the immigrants, and particularly the immigrant youth. The knowledge the students had acquired at his school served for them as a stepping stone to further education and helped them to become better and more useful citizens. The students of the Berg Preparatory School spoke of Mr. Berg with love and admiration.

Financially Mr. M. Berg was not at all successful. Out of his school he desired a mere subsistence, and lived in the rear of the school with his wife and children. The Berg Preparatory School functioned until about 1919-1920.