16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 29, 2015
Polk County Education/News
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Classic Movie Cafe & Concessions director Steven Cisneros, center, chooses music to play and hands out popcorn
samples during his business’ grand opening celebration at Dallas’ Walnut Plaza on Friday afternoon.
A new twist on movie concessions
Entrepreneur serves up creative popcorn, classic favorites of cinema stands
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
The cafe’s menu features special popcorn blends and a
“Director’s Choice” candy along with its regular menu.
DALLAS — Last weekend was “lights,
camera, action” for Steven Cisneros’
longtime dream.
Cisneros, 23, is director of the newly
opened Classic Movie Café & Conces-
sions, a film-themed food cart located
at Walnut Plaza in Dallas.
He celebrated with friends and fami-
ly Friday afternoon during his grand
opening weekend, but it was a few
weeks earlier when his parents, Cheryl
and Anthony Cisneros, knew the ven-
ture was going to be all they were hop-
ing for.
Steven has autism, which affects his
communication abilities and other life
skills, so two weeks before his grand
opening he was practicing handing out
samples of popcorn when his mother
saw it: a smile on his face.
Cheryl said she wasn’t sure how
Steven would handle the customer
service side of owning a small business,
especially when dealing with strangers.
That question was answered as Steven
confidently stood up, smiled and hand-
ed a customer a small box of popcorn.
“That’s the day we knew that after all
the hard work and all the years of prac-
tice he’s had, that it would be a dream
come true for him,” said a beaming
Cheryl. “That it was possible for him to
enjoy that was exciting.”
It has been years of dedication to
learning the skills he needed to run his
business, but the passion behind it —
movies — began when Steven was a
baby.
Cheryl said she has a picture of
Steven watching a movie when he was-
n’t yet a year old. She said his love grew
from there.
When he was older, he began look-
ing up movie facts online. Now he’s a
savant when it comes to movie facts.
Steven remembers the year, format, di-
rector, studio and many other details
about an endless list of films.
“He knows all sorts of movie trivia,”
said Steven’s grandfather, Steven
Ahrendt. “That’s his thing, movies, es-
pecially classic movies.”
It’s probably no accident that his
concession stand features movie
munchie favorites such as hot dogs,
nachos, candy and popcorn. The food
cart’s VIP Room in Walnut Plaza also
displays classic film memorabilia and
plays film documentaries for cus-
tomers. On opening weekend, the se-
lection was American Film Institute’s
“100 years ... 100 movies.”
See MUNCHIES, Page 15A
New system should be easier for school district
Power School promises to put more information for teachers, students, parents at fingertips and on demand
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — A
new computer system at the
Central School District
should make getting infor-
mation about students easi-
er and faster.
The district is moving
from eSchool to Power
School, a new student infor-
mation system that will
allow teachers, parents, ad-
ministers and staff access to
records in minutes rather
than weeks, Superintendent
Buzz Brazeau said.
“There are a couple things
that are beneficial to us (in
the new system),” Brazeau
said. “Instead of having in-
formation stored in different
places, it will all be in one
place.”
With the old system, it
was difficult to hold people
accountable about how stu-
dents were performing be-
cause information was
stored in many different
places, Brazeau said.
“Part of the information
was here, part was there,” he
said. “All of that is something
you need to be able to look
at.”
Power School also has
better parent access,
Brazeau said.
“If I’m a parent and have a
student in elementary, mid-
dle and at the high school, I
can log on and see all three
students at one time,” he
said. “It can translate some
things in 19 different lan-
guages.”
The new program will
cost more initially, but after
five years it will be less ex-
pensive that eSchool,
Brazeau said.
“That initial cost, transi-
tion and training are one-
time costs,” he said.
With the new program,
which will be managed lo-
cally rather than through the
Willamette Education Serv-
ice District, the gradebook
will be standards-based,
Brazeau said.
“As you see more and
more working toward a stan-
dard or proving that I met a
standard, gradebooks are
becoming more and more
based on standards,” he
said. “So we needed a grade-
book that was more friendly,
based on standards.”
The system also will make
it easier for teachers to ac-
cess individual educational
plans (IEP), Brazeau said.
“With our current system,
if I’m a special education
teacher and you’re teaching
one of my kids, I have to get
you a copy of the IEP,”
Brazeau said.
At the elementary level,
that isn’t so difficult. But as
students move to the high
school, it can get more time
consuming, he said.
With Power School, the
IEP electronically follows
the student, Brazeau said.
“A single sign-in gives you
access to all the informa-
tion,” he said. In addition to
an IEP, any medical notes or
other information about the
student — such as a peanut
allergy or a restraining
order — is all accessible for
teachers.
Power School also gives
the district a way to help
provide details to the Cen-
tral Health and Wellness
Center. Nurses and staff at
the medical clinic will be
able to easily identify stu-
dents whose parents have
opted them out of getting
care, Brazeau said.
“I think there’s some real
benefit to us to be able to get
the information (quickly),
package it in a way that we
want to package it, and have
it available to us at request,”
Brazeau said.
Teachers, administrators
and classified staff will train
on the new system through-
out the month of August. It
should be ready to go before
school starts, Brazeau said.
White’s Collision to open new location
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — White’s Collision Service of Dallas announced
it is opening a new location in Silverton at Holland Collision
Service.
White’s purchased the business on June 1 from Mark Hol-
land, who has owned and operated it since 2001. The loca-
tion is White’s Collision Service’s fourth.
A grand opening celebration at the new shop will take
place Aug. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m.
For more information: 503-559-6943.
DALLAS 121 Main St. • 503-623-8155 Mon-Fri 8AM - 6PM • Sat 8AM - 5PM
INDEPENDENCE 1710 Monmouth St. • 503-838-6340