Each September, as a new school year begins, my mother, Patty Lewis, marks the moment in her own unmistakable way: she turns up a speaker and fills the air with her favorite ’80s songs. It is her annual welcome to students at the Adam J. Lewis Academy, the school named for my father — her husband, Adam — who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
My father’s own story began in a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, where he lived with his dad and attended local public elementary and middle schools. A gifted athlete, he later earned a scholarship to The Dalton School in Manhattan, an opportunity that transformed the course of his life. That experience helped shape one of his deepest convictions: education can be the great equalizer, giving children from any background the chance to compete, grow and thrive.
He made the most of that chance. After Dalton, he attended Hamilton College, where he met my mom, and later built a career at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a financial firm based in the Twin Towers.
As our family grew to include four children — Reilly, Sam, Sophie and me — my mother left the classroom to focus on raising us. My dad remained a constant, devoted presence, commuting between New York City and Connecticut while making sure each of us felt loved, valued and supported. Providing for his family was central to who he was, and he never forgot that access to a strong education had helped make that life possible.
Caroline Lewis
Ten years after 9/11, my mom found her way back to education through admissions work at my private school in Westport, Connecticut. There, she met hundreds of children from surrounding communities, including Bridgeport, a lower-income city where public schools often struggled to meet students’ needs. Again and again, she encountered bright children with enormous promise who lacked the early academic foundation required to succeed — and too often, they were not admitted.
That pattern left her asking a question she could not shake: What would happen if those children had access to a high-quality early childhood program designed to give them the strong start they deserved?
The idea took hold. Eventually, she brought it to her friend and former teacher, Julie Mombello. Julie’s first reaction was to call her “nuts.” But then she listened for six hours as my mom laid out her vision for how the right educational opportunity could change a child’s future — the same way it had changed my father’s.
In 2011, The Adam J. Lewis Preschool was formally incorporated. From there, my mom faced the next challenge: finding a building, securing a permit and assembling the staff who could help bring the vision to life.
After searching for two years for the perfect place and recruiting her teacher friends, the Adam J. Lewis Preschool opened in Bridgeport in 2013 with just 12 students. The interest and support skyrocketed.
Most notably came support from my dad’s former employer, KBW. My mom reached out to them in hopes of getting them involved with the start of the school. KBW graciously sponsored the playground for the preschool, but it didn’t stop there. Tom Michaud, my dad’s close friend and colleague, and current CEO of KBW, continues to support the school to this day.
After gaining so much interest from donors and students alike, my mom decided to grow the school with each grade, reopening as the Adam J. Lewis Academy in 2018.
Pamela Einarsen Photography LLC
Today, AJLA has nearly 200 students from pre-K to eighth grade, and I could not be prouder of my mom. Each time I return to Connecticut to visit her and the school, I am in disbelief at how much she was able to accomplish and how impactful this institution has become.
My dad’s legacy has not only been physically enshrined in the name of the school, but his legacy lives on through the children.
Sept. 11, 2001, was an extraordinary and horrific tragedy, but with loss also comes new life, and I can only marvel at the impact AJLA is making on the children of today.
As Tom Michaud told me, “The story of 9/11 is not done being written,” and 25 years later, AJLA is writing new chapters with every student.
