Kirkland Children's School in Houghton Wins Patch Readers' Choice Poll

Wow, moms and dads of Kirkland, Patch is overwhelmed by your response to our Readers’ Choice poll on our fair city’s favorite preschools.

Going by the vote, we have our winner. But we have to say we really have multiple winners, because it is quite apparent by the 53 heartfelt comments left on the story that Kirkland is fortunate to boast many fine preschools!

We hope that in the future, mothers and fathers seeking a safe and nurturing preschool for their precious children will find this story and poll, because it is so instructional and informative, thanks to all the responses.

OK, without further adieu, drum roll please! The runaway winner is , for more than 25 years caring for and educating kids in Houghton, with 182 of 452 total votes cast by the 9 a.m. Friday deadline.

Congratulations to Rachel Mikulec, school director, Chery Hight, assistant director, and all of the teachers and staff!

Here is a comment left on the story, representative of those by KCS fans:

“Kirkland Children's School is fantastic! Their secure and beautiful outdoor play yards for the kids, complete with wildlife habitats, are impressive and create a fantastic environment for the children to exercise and use their imaginations. Until I saw KCS, I never believed I could feel as comfortable with my child in the care of others. The friendly staff is dedicated to the children, they love them and work to build their confidence as they learn new and exciting skills.”
--Amethyst Hubbard

At the same time, several other preschools scored impressively in both votes and comments. Its’ safe to say parents also feel exceedingly comfortable about the environment at the following preschools:

, 94 votes
, 52 votes
, 35 votes
, 26 votes.
, 25 votes

Lots of comments were left about all of those. For example, here’s a terrific one on Northlake:

“We love the flower gardens at Northlake Preschool and the outdoors-oriented activities. Our rule is we always have to stop and pick strawberries on the way to the car at the end of the day! We bring home plants for our yard and call it "our school garden at our house." Teachers are great and incredibly helpful and understanding. We appreciate not being charged extra for languages, tumble bus, dance, and after school care.”
-NL fan

So congratulations to our winners, plural, and a warm thank you to all the caring parents who provided such outstanding feedback -- you really made this poll informative, interesting and instructive!

And on with the third in our series of 12 Readers’ Choice polls: Best place in Kirkland to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, coming up next Saturday, March 17. A story announcing the new poll will post here at 5 a.m. on Monday. We've already begun compiling our list of St. Paddy’s spots, and of course we know full well the , Kirkland’s only Irish restaurant, will be the bar to beat.

But other spots are jockeying for contention. -- bringing a -- has ordered special St. Paddy’s tee-shirts! The up in the Totem lake area has been decked out in shamrocks for more than a week. at Carillon Point is serving green beer and Chef Matthew Steffen’s 7-Day Brined Corned Beef Brisket.

We will gladly accept nominations for other great St. Paddy’s Day places to put on our poll. Please email the editor, Greg.Johnston@Patch.com, or let us know on Facebook.

Thanks to all who have participated in our Readers’ Choice series so far! After all, Patch is not a one-way street, as our preschool poll so vividly demonstrates. Patch is inclusive and interactive, expecting and encouraging all to comment, review and post photos and announcements, as well as post events on our calendar.

Please join the conversation!