By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Overcrowding may be a problem for many of New York City's public schools, but you might not have noticed as students arrived for the first day of class Wednesday morning.
Nearly one quarter – 23 percent – of students ditched the first day of school in the city, up from 16 percent last year, according to the New York Times.
Scheduling may be to blame for the poor attendance because Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah coincided this year, making Wednesday the only day of school this week.
For kindergarteners at P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side, the abridged school week meant that students would only have to endure a single hour of class before enjoying a four-day weekend.
Rachel Laiserin, co-president of P.S. 87 Parents Association, said she knew many families who decided to play hookie, rather than subject their kids to a disorienting false start.
"It seems that whole (first) day has to be kind of done over," Laiserin explained.
