ON THE first day of school, every child wants to know who his or her teacher is, but, according to the district's personnel chief, students in more than 100 classrooms across the city didn't get that chance yesterday. That's because 171 teachers, most of whom are tenured instructors, failed to show up for work, said human-resources chief Estelle Matthews.
"It's frustrating," she said. "To be absent on the first day of school is telling."
It was unclear how many were unexcused temporary absences and how many were unexpected resignations.
