Billy Joel Pledges $1 Million To Keep Long Island High School For The Arts Open

Exactly two months ago, BroadwayWorld reported that a letter from American music legend and Long Island native Billy Joel, read to nearly 200 parents and students at a Nassau County Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) meeting, helped two specialized Long Island high schools win a reprieve from imminent closing.

New York State's BOCES schools provide shared educational programs and services to school districts within the state. The Long Island High School for the Arts and the Doshi Science Technology Engineering and Math Institute have been in danger of closing because of failing enrollment and dwindling tuition revenue.

At that time, Joel's manager had stated that the music icon was willing to personally and professionally donate to the cause.

Newsday now reports that The Joel Foundation has pledged to donate $1 million to an organization supporting the Long Island High School for the Arts if Nassau BOCES pledges to keep it open for three years.

The Hicksville native is also planning a February 8th event, "Afternoon of Questions & Answers . . . And a Little Music" at the Hillwood Recital Hall at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post in Brookville. The invitation-only event will include students from the arts school and the university, as well as prospective students and school superintendents. The aim is to propose ideas to increase enrollment.

Joel has presented such question-and-answer sessions - which he calls "master classes" - to music students for years, explaining to them what music has meant to him, how his creative process works and also performing some of his biggest hits and best-loved songs.

Officials at Nassau BOCES hope that Joel's participation will raise awareness and boost enrollment.

"We are delighted to be in a partnership and collaboration with Billy Joel and his people, and they have been outstanding," said Nassau BOCES Superintendent Robert Dillon.

"Long Island needs to embrace the arts," Joel wrote in November. "I went to public school on Long Island and I am grateful for the music program and my music teachers for helping provide me the tools for which I have based my career. I understand that closing this school does not mean the end of music and arts programs on Long Island, but it does indicate our willingness to abandon a school that has been there for 40 years rather than build it up.'

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