Last-minute cramming

Ray McCall is not quite ready to send his three grandchildren back to school. Rather, he is maximizing their final summer days together with help from a favored aisle at the Whitman Plaza Kmart at Third Street and Oregon Avenue.

Taking a break from school-supply shopping, McCall can’t help but swing by the toy section with his favorite students from Avery D. Harrington

Elementary in Southwest Philly. He rewards them for their good behavior and patience, since the group has been on the run all morning, hitting a Wal-Mart before arriving at their present location to find back-to-school paraphernalia.

Wal-Mart "doesn’t have half the [back-to-school] stuff they have here," noted McCall.

Back to school. It’s a phrase that makes most merchants and parents jump for joy and transforms jovial youngsters into sourpusses. Public-school and most parochial- and charter-school students return to the classroom Sept. 7.

Before students filter into the classrooms next week, their parents and storeowners are making sure their reentry occurs without a hitch – and in style.

Peter Pieragostini, Kmart’s softlines manager, showcased the fall’s hottest trends at a "back-to-school" fashion show Aug. 27. Some 19 people modeled the store’s clothing lines while customers snagged door prizes.

This year’s trendy items include corduroy pants and faded jeans, he said.

But one parent not equating school to a fashion show is Barbara Broadnax, whose daughter Jasmine attends the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, 2600 S. Broad St. The sixth-grader is required to wear a uniform.

Loading their car outside of Cramer’s Kids Uniforms, 1704 E. Passyunk Ave., after spending nearly $300, the duo still had plenty left on their to-do list.

"We still have to get shoes, sneaks and ballet shoes," said Broadnax, formerly of Broad and Ellsworth streets. "I’d say by the end of today, we’ll spend over $500."

This price does not include what Broadnax spent on school supplies, which she said was not burdensome since Jasmine’s school provides a list of fairly inexpensive items. But the expenses during the year seem to never end, she added.

"I need to own stock at [arts-and-crafts retailer] A.C. Moore," joked Broadnax. "Literally speaking, we were doing three to four school projects in a two-week span."

Boystown/Girlstown, another uniform outfitter next door to Cramer’s Kids, also is getting swept away in back-to-school fever.

"It starts early July and builds up to a crescendo," said Joe Tomasetti, the store’s proprietor for 12 years. "The last week is a lot of people picking whatever sizes we have left."

Tomasetti’s store, which is awash in a sea of colors from the parochial-school attire hanging on the racks, has had good business this summer. Also seeing green is Kmart’s Pieragostini: his store underwent a 32-percent increase in sales this back-to-school season.

"We sold out of book bags and had to reorder three times," said Pieragostini, who noted character lunchboxes, specifically Batman and Spider-Man, are this year’s hot item.

Perusing the backpack section at the Wal-Mart at 1601 S. Columbus Blvd., David Benson searches for the right one that will accompany him to Edwin H. Vare Middle School, 24th Street and Snyder Avenue. Prior to his book-bag hunt, Benson and his mother paid a visit to Forman Mills to purchase some dapper duds.

The resident of the 1900 block of South Woodstock Street is itching to return to the classroom since he wants to meet his seventh-grade teachers.

This is not the case for Stephen Kelhower, a student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 2329 S. Third St. Asked if he is excited to hit the books once again, he responds with a resounding "No!"

"There are a couple things left on his list and he’s not happy we’re shopping for back to school," said Kelhower’s mother, Lisa, referring to the supply list received from school officials.

While it may seem like a fairly easy task, obtaining the perfect folder always is a chore, said Lisa. Her son opts for one bearing Napoleon Dynamite – one of this year’s more popular themes – but then goes on to complete the daunting task of finding seven more.

Lisa’s patience begins to wear thin as she instructs her son to kick it into high gear.

"It always takes a long time to pick out folders," she quipped.