Long Island

Have you ever thought about living on an exotic island? One where, within an hour you could drive to the shore with white sandy beaches? One which, without leaving the island, you could go to work; go to the museum and sites of historical importance; send your children to school, and even go to a sprawling park with lush green fields with your family to enjoy a warm summers days picnic? Now imagine that this island is only a short distance from the Big Apple. That island, is Long Island, New York. The one hundred and twenty-five mile long island is home to just under 8 million people. The residents of Long Island have been ranked as being the sixth wealthiest area in the United States. Those 8 million people are divided into 4 different counties: Brooklyn/Kings, Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens, although Brooklyn/Kings and Queens are actually part of New York City, even though they lie on Long Island.

Suffolk County, which is located from the mid section of Long Island running east to Montauk. Suffolk County takes up about 911 square miles and is divided into ten townships: Islip, Babylon, Huntington, Brookhaven, Smithtown, East Hampton, Shelter Island, Southampton, Southold, and Riverhead. These ten townships are home to roughly 1.4 million people, per the 2000 United States Census board. Suffolk County offers its residents 71 public schools, and if the parents should decide against public schooling, Long Island houses many private and parochial schools opportunities. Suffolk County is governed by a 18 member Legislative Board, which is overseen by a County Executive.

Nassau County, which is located beginning from the mid part of Long Island running west to Queens County, takes up roughly 287 square miles or the Island, and is divided into three townships: Oyster Bay, Hempstead, and North Hempstead. These three townships are home to roughly 1.5 million people, per the 2000 United States Census board. These three townships are divided into 64 separate villages, with each village having its own Village Board, which is overseen by the Village Mayor. Each township, and the villages within are governed by a township supervisor and supervisory board. Also, the entire County of Nassau is governed by a 19 member Legislative Board, which is overseen by a County Executive. Nassau is the home to 56 public school districts, with the same private schools which were mentioned for Suffolk County also being available to the residents of Nassau County.

Brooklyn/Kings County of Long Island is actually Kings County which is within Long Island, but it is also part of the Brooklyn Borough of New York City, so it falls under the reign of NYC's government. Kings runs along the western side of the Island, and has a total area of 96 square miles. The 2000 United States Census board recorded nearly 2.5 million people residing within 96 sq. miles in the Kings County borders. While falling under the governing body of NYC, Kings County has its own group of community boards which oversee the various neighborhoods, and a borough president who controls the community boards.

Queens County of Long Island, like Kings, is also a part of metro New York City, and NYC's government, and is one of New York City's 5 boroughs. Queens County is 112.1 in square miles, and has around 2 million people residing within its boundaries, accord to the 2000 United States Census. Roughly 196 miles of Queens border is waterfront, and overlooks Manhattan Island over the Long Island Sound.

Roughly 230 private and parochial schools are available to the residents of the Island, and the enrollment of those 233 schools is over 53,000 students, with approximately 4,873 teachers. The public schools of the Island, 127 of them, have an enrollment of over 416,000 students, with approximately 30,000 teachers. Upon leading the ranks of private of public school system, Long Island also offers a variety of higher education opportunities to its residents. Roughly 88% of the graduating classes each year embark on the voyage into the higher education ranks, and on the Island they have the option of seventeen different 4 year colleges and universities, 8 two/three year junior colleges, and five professional institutions. Just a few of those options for higher education are: Hofstra University, Dowling College, New York Institute of Technology, St. Joseph College, SUNY Stony Brook, and Touro Law College, plus many, many others.

The economy is composed of over 90,000 individual businesses, and the area has the claim of having one of the lowest unemployment rates nationwide. Just a few of the employment offerings from the Long Island economy are: technology, engineering, biotechnology, the health care field, and education. Proof of the booming economy of Long Island is the double digit increase rates in the value of homes and land in the area.

With opportunities to live, work, learn, play, and raise your family, Long Island has something to offer everyone, from the young family starting off, to the single person looking for a fresh start, to the aging couple who wants to retire, without retiring from society. All of the businesses, schools, and wonderful entertainment sources show that regardless of where you come from, Long Island, and the people on the Island, can make anyone feel right at home.

For information and news on Long Island Colleges please visit the Colleges.li Blog.

Although the Long Island School and other educational information on this site is believed to be correct, the information is provided on an "As Is" basis, and accuracy and/or completeness cannot be guaranteed. No warranty of any kind is given with respect to the contents of this website. Most data is sourced from New York State Department of Education.