Page 10 August 22, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Mychal’s from page 3
neurological disorder that left her wheelchairbound
and unable to communicate through
language. Her doctors thought the malady
would claim her even earlier, but she bravely
persevered for a few more years. When unimpressed
by the available options for his
daughter’s care, Lynch envisioned a center
dedicated to helping those with developmental
disabilities. After Mychal’s death, he ran a
Hawthorne-based special needs program that
eventually shut down and prompted him to
open his own learning facility in 2002. Since
that time, it has grown to more than 130
students and over 145 volunteers.
Lynch hopes Mychal’s Prints will achieve
similar successes to the coffee and bakery truck
that held its grand opening this past January
and has since been on the move throughout the
South Bay at various schools, businesses and
community events. The truck offers specialty
espresso beverages, blended drinks, freshly
brewed teas (including a chai latte crafted in
house by Mychal’s students) and freshly baked
pastries all made in the commercial kitchen
in the Hawthorne facility. “Our goal with the
Mykie’s truck is to promote inclusion and
understanding of people with developmental
disabilities, while providing quality products
to the community,” Lynch explained. “We
hope to soon have the Mykie’s coffee and
bakery truck out in the South Bay and west
side of Los Angeles every day of the week.”
Lynch added that Mykie’s currently has
25 trainees working as bakers, baristas, cashiers
and in food services. While he noted
that every individual on the team possesses
unique talents and personalized vocational
goals, he pointed to one particular woman
who stands out from the pack. “Elena started
at Mykie’s two years ago, first training as a
barista, then branching out into the kitchen,
and now the truck,” Lynch said. “She is
personable, talented and just happens to be
diagnosed with Down syndrome.”
Because she works in all departments of
Mykie’s, Elena has a decided advantage in
being well-versed in all the products ranging
from the particulars of knowing all the
ingredients in a cookie to understanding
the nuances of steaming milk.. At 32 years
old, she is one of Mychal’s oldest students
(the age range typically runs from 12 to 30)
and lives independently in a group home in
Lawndale. “Elena can use rideshare apps
to get to and from work and navigates her
community on her own,” Lynch said.
Most often, Elena can be found during
mornings on the food truck handling cashier
duties and assisting customers with pastries
and drink orders. “She came to us with no
work experience,” Lynch recalled. “In the beginning
Elena was nervous, frequently saying
she was scared to fail… but as she practiced
her newly learned skills, her confidence grew.
The progress Elena has made is tremendous.
Her dedication to the job and passion for life
cannot go unnoticed. The pride she shows
when making a cappuccino or baking a
batch of sugar cookies independently is truly
remarkable. She is no longer scared to fail
and instead is always excited to learn.” For
Lynch, Elena is a shining example of how
Mychal’s Learning Place can bolster the
lives of those with developmental disorders
and give them the necessary tools to actively
contribute to the local workforce.
In a similar vein, Mychal’s offers a paid
internship program with partners such as
Rock & Brews in El Segundo, South Bay Ford
and Kinecta Federal Credit Union. “Through
these amazing companies, we’ve been able
to provide support to five students in our
Path to Independence Adult Day Program
that has only been running for six months,”
Lynch said. “One major success is David at
Rock & Brews, who has successfully transitioned
to full employment, working at the
restaurant five days a week. He loves what
he does -- and even better, he also loves
being independent.”
Meanwhile, Lynch was pleased to report that
Mychal’s Prints has also hit the ground running,
with multiple contracts already in place
and more in the works. With a new website,
full-scale marketing program and plans to
move the operations into Inglewood to handle
expanded production capacity, Mychal’s Prints
hopes to secure outside funding for additional
equipment and supplies. “While there are a
number of print operations offering similar
services in the market area, Mychal’s Prints
is unique in its training mission thanks to our
work and interaction with the community,”
Lynch explained. “The success of our earlier
training programs has attracted a large number
of prospective trainees, with over 100 young
people on a waiting list for our programs. The
word is out that Mychal’s is the go-to place
for these capable young people looking for
the opportunity to show how they can make a
positive difference in the community despite
the challenges they face...” •
Davlantis from page 5
have really strong teachers and staff at each
of the sites that keep thing moving positively.
I just want stability for everyone here.”
Davlantis, who holds a Master’s degree in
educational administration from Pepperdine
University, began her career in the ESUSD
as a Social Studies teacher at ESHS in
2004 after receiving her Bachelor’s degree
in Social Science teaching from Brigham
Young University.
In 2016, Davlantis transitioned to become
a teacher-on-special assignment at ESHS,
with the title of Intervention Specialist. She
noted that she had always wanted to enter
the teaching profession. “I love working with
kids,” she explained. She initially wanted to
be a middle school teacher, but through what
she termed a “weird” series of events, she
ended up teaching social studies at ESHS.
During her tenure at ESHS, Davantlis was
closely involved with the Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) program,
which she started. She helped to grow the
program from the original 35 students in 2006
to more than 100 participants. Davlantis said
she still has “close relationships” with some
of her first-year AVID students, and touted
a unique aspect of the program in that it allows
a teacher to stay with and instruct the
same group of students, developing close
relationships, for their entire four years at
the school.
Davlantis had sought to “steer the ship,”
and continue the “standard of excellence,”
following in the path set by Gooden and
Rabiei, when she was selected as acting
assistant principal. She pointed out that she
has a great relationship with Gooden. “Dr.
Gooden has been so supportive,” Davlantis
added, noting that the November school
swap allowed both women to help each
other out in their new positions. She feels
relationship-building is key to be a successful
administrator and that she worked hard
to “make sure that people knew that I was
authentic, that I was real.”
Davlantis frames her philosophy under the
guiding tenet of, “What is best for kids?”
and has a sign, given to her by one of her
students to that effect, adorning a wall in her
office. She said she tries to be a “big-picture
person,” seeking long-term solutions to get
to the end-goal. Considered by others she
has worked with as the ultimate team-player,
Davlantis labels herself as a “little bit of a
perfectionist -- a control freak who wants
things to be done well.”
District Assistant Superintendent, Educational
Services Marisa Janicek has had a
long-time association with Davlantis. She said,
“We are so fortunate to have Ms. Davlantis
officially join our leadership team. She has
been a valued asset at the high school for many
years and will continue to be an incredible
team member at the middle school. She is an
excellent communicator, extremely thoughtful
and a natural leader. Our middle school is
lucky to have such a caring, responsive and
knowledgeable assistant principal.”
Long-time ESHS Athletic Director Steve
Shevlin, who has worked with Davlantis for
more than a decade, touted her accomplishments.
“Sarah will do an excellent job as the
middle school assistant principal,” he said.
“She was the chair of our Leadership Committee,
instrumental in our WASC Accreditation
process, and served as the at-risk counselor
at the high school for several years. Sarah
is a ‘team player’ who looks and listens to
all sides before making decisions and has
always been an advocate for the students
of El Segundo.”
Rabiei, who has transitioned into a new
job in the District, Director of Operations,
worked closely with Davlantis. “As the acting
assistant principal, Davlantis brought a
strong skillset in the area of curricular leadership,
given her successful tenure as the high
school’s leadership chair, where instructional
practices are explored and fine-tuned”, he
emailed. “She will continue to bring this to
the middle school, and I have no doubt that
she will take ESMS to the next level. Above
all, Davlantis always has one thing in mind
in all that she does -- namely, what is best
for the students.”
Nicole Duquette, the incoming principal at
ESMS, has been collaborating with Davlantis
since May and said she views the new assistant
principal as “very bright, dedicated,
and hard-working.” Duquette comes to the
District from outside El Segundo and sees
the partnership with the ESHS graduate and
local resident Davlantis as an “important balance
for the school and community, noting
that Davlantis “grew up here and understands
the culture and needs of the community.”
Duquette added, “[I was] comforted that I
don’t have a new assistant principal coming
from the outside because there is an inherent
learning curve to the position.”
Davlantis lives in town with her husband and
three young children. Asked what endeavors
she likes to participate in outside of school,
she said, “I am a mom first,” mentioning
playing, reading, cooking and baking with
her children, as well as taking trips to area
museums and Disneyland.
Noting the recent turnover of administrators
at ESMS and ESHS, Davlantis said
that looking forward she hopes to become
a fixture at the middle school by cultivating
relationships with the students, families and
staff. “I feel blessed to be in such a great
community,” she said, mentioning that she
continues to be inspired by the teachers doing
what is best for kids. “I hope that we can
continue on that path.” •
“Being disabled does not mean Un-abled,
just Different Abled.”
– Mr. Noel Helm
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