In addition to textbooks, the Kennel Bookstore also sells supplies, apparel and even electronic devices. Photo by Ben Hensley

It’s that time of year again — when a silent house brings a unique combination of relief and melancholy for parents who survived the long, hot summer balancing child care and work.

But that brings the next step in the ever-evolving life of a parent with school children: back-to-school shopping.

From kindergarten to college, parents and recently graduated adult students, back-to-school shopping can be a maddening combination of stress and necessity.

That’s why local businesses, organizations and school districts are each working to provide as many accessible opportunities for students to either receive or purchase school supplies for the fall semester.

Business element

Locally-owned GW School Supply has served Valley students since 1932, first from their original location in Downtown Fresno and now from two Fresno stores and one Bakersfield location.

Carrying a wide variety of supplies ranging from language arts to math and science, GW School Supply focuses on making learning fun with interactive and early-learning educational activities as well as classroom supplies and decorations for teachers.

Harry Grey, manager of GW School Supply’s Blackstone store, said the crowds this year differ from last years’ crowds, with many guests taking advantage of the online shopping options through the store’s website.

“Each year is different,” Grey said. “It seems not as busy — I think a lot of people are shopping online — but we get our crowds right before back to school.”

With Fresno Unified students returning to school next Monday, Central Unified returning next Wednesday, and Clovis Unified returning the following Monday (Aug. 14, 16 and 21 respectively), Grey expects the crowds to remain busy for the remainder of the summer.

According to Grey, the store averages anywhere from 30 to 50 customers daily during the regular year, but during the back-to-school season, that number balloons to around 150 daily shoppers — not including online purchases.

Online shopping, be it directly from a retailer or shipping, is also playing a key role in back-to-school shopping, with a recent Capital One Shopping Research report stating that 55% of K-12 back-to-school shopping is done online.

The college kennel

Back-to-school shopping enters a transformation after high school, transitioning to college campuses and leaving mom and dad at home — or in another town entirely — as first-time and returning college students bustle to winding queues and stressed-out cashiers.

The Kennel Bookstore, operated by parent company the Follett Higher Education Group, is once again expecting surges of students placing both online orders and shopping directly at the on-campus bookstore.

Kennel Bookstore Assistant Manager Santos Pena said that many students, new students in particular, are not aware of the layout of the bookstore, which can create chaos when lines wrap nearly to the nearby Memorial Court Fountain.

Located adjacent to the old Student Union building (it actually connects to the bookstore on the lower level), the Kennel Bookstore is preparing for the inevitable wave of shoppers by hiring additional staff and strategizing for the crowds and elevated sales.

“Without including technology, anywhere from 60 to a little over $90,000 for the first week,” Pena said. “If technology purchases are included within that first week then that number would definitely shoot up past $100K.”

Pena said that while online shopping and orders are convenient for students, the benefits of braving the lines in the Fresno sun outweigh the comforts of online shopping.

“Say for example a student comes in who needs a psychology book. We won’t know what psychology book they would need,” he said, further explaining that bookstore staff can assist students who have accessed their online student portal in order to see specific information about professor class requirements.

That said, making an in-person appearance at the bookstore allows students and staff to work together to ensure the students’ needs are met.

“If they’re online, they’re having to do all of that research on their own,” Pena added.

Both online and in-person sales are subject to a 30-day return policy, but with online orders, often that return window can feel rushed with the requirements of returning purchases through the mail.

Back to school at the school

For low-income families, handling back-to-school shopping can be not only a stress to find the correct materials, but even more of a stress in obtaining those materials. With the rising cost of supplies and the continued digital migration that many educational institutions have embarked on, low-income households can often feel left behind when it comes to school supplies.

That’s why both Fresno Unified (FUSD) and Clovis Unified (CUSD) offer resources for the families of qualifying students to provide their students with the best learning experience possible.

The two districts, however, operate differently, largely due to funding; Fresno Unified sports a budget slightly north of $2 billion for the 2023-24 school year, compared to a Clovis Unified budget of just over $500 million.

That disparity causes both districts to handle providing back-to-school supplies differently, with Fresno Unified employing a centralized approach and Clovis Unified approaching its back-to-school supply drives on a case-by-case basis.

“Our district is the lowest funded school system in Fresno County and receives much less per pupil than others in the County,” said CUSD Chief Communications Officer Kelly Avants. “That means that our systems may look more decentralized than you’ll find in other districts.”

Avants said that the district recently provided backpacks and school supplies to families in need through their Student Services Office and Educational Services departments.

Aj Kato, FUSD Interim Communications Director, said FUSD’s Parent University hosted its Family Goal Kickoff event last month. At the event, more than 2,500 backpacks filled with school supplies were provided to families. The organization also had IT professionals onsite to ensure laptops were functioning properly.

With remote learning quickly becoming a fading memory, businesses and organizations providing the pen and paper (or, in some cases, laptop and stylus) are alive, well and doing their best to serve students in the Central Valley as the 2023-24 school year begins.