How my father’s legacy is changing the future for hundreds of kids: “The story of 9/11 is not done being written”
A 9/11 Legacy Lives On in a Bridgeport Classroom
Wertynews.com – When a new school year begins at the Adam J. Lewis Academy, Patty Lewis marks the occasion with energy, music and a personal connection to every family walking through the doors. Each September, she brings out a speaker, turns up her favorite songs from the 1980s and welcomes students to a school that carries her late husband’s name.
Adam J. Lewis was killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. More than two decades later, his name represents more than a loss remembered by his family. It has become part of an educational mission serving nearly 200 students in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from pre-K through eighth grade.
The academy’s growth reflects a belief Adam held throughout his life: education can create opportunity regardless of a child’s starting point.
An Opportunity That Changed a Life
Adam grew up in the Bronx, New York, sharing a one-bedroom apartment with his father. He attended local public elementary and middle schools before his athletic ability helped him earn a scholarship to The Dalton School in Manhattan.
That scholarship opened a different future. The education he received at Dalton shaped his conviction that a strong academic foundation could help level unequal circumstances. In his view, a student’s background should not determine the possibilities available to them.
He continued to Hamilton College, where he met Patty. Later, he joined the financial firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, whose offices were located in the Twin Towers.
As their family grew to include four children — Reilly, Sam, Sophie and the article’s author — Adam’s role as a father remained central to his life. He regularly traveled between New York City and Connecticut and worked to make sure his children felt valued and supported. Providing for his family mattered deeply to him, and he recognized that his own educational path had helped make that stability possible.
Turning Grief Into an Educational Mission
Patty Lewis had stepped away from teaching while raising the family. About 10 years after 9/11, she returned to the education field through admissions work at a private school in Westport, Connecticut.
There, she met and interviewed many children from nearby communities, including Bridgeport. She saw that some prospective students had not been given the early academic preparation needed to thrive in demanding school environments. Too often, a lack of foundational skills meant they could not be accepted.
The experience prompted a question that became increasingly difficult to set aside: What could happen if children had access to a strong early-learning program before those gaps became barriers?
Eventually, Patty shared the idea with Julie Mombello, a friend and former teacher. Mombello initially thought the proposal sounded unrealistic. But after listening to Patty explain how educational access had transformed Adam’s life, she came to understand the larger purpose behind the plan.
The goal was not simply to open another preschool. It was to give children an early start that could support them through later grades, helping them build the skills and confidence required for future learning.
From 12 Preschoolers to Nearly 200 Students
The Adam J. Lewis Preschool was incorporated in 2011. Patty then faced the practical work of turning an idea into a functioning school: finding a location, obtaining the necessary permit and assembling a staff.
After a two-year search for an appropriate site, and with help from teachers she knew, the preschool opened in Bridgeport in 2013. Its first class included 12 students.
Interest in the school grew quickly, as did support from donors and community partners. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Adam’s former employer, played a meaningful role from the beginning. Patty contacted the firm in hopes that it would become involved, and KBW sponsored the preschool playground.
The relationship continued beyond that initial contribution. Tom Michaud, a close friend and colleague of Adam’s who is now CEO of KBW, has remained a supporter of the school.
As demand increased, Patty chose to expand the program one grade at a time. In 2018, the organization reopened under a new name: the Adam J. Lewis Academy. The change reflected its broader reach, moving beyond early childhood education and creating a path for students through middle school.
Today, the academy enrolls nearly 200 children. Its presence gives families access to a school built around the premise that early educational support can influence what becomes possible later on.
New Chapters for a Lasting Legacy
For Adam’s family, the academy is a living reminder of both what was lost on September 11 and what can emerge from a commitment to serve others. The school bears his name, but its daily impact is found in the students learning inside its classrooms.
Its story also offers a fuller way to consider legacy. Remembering a person can involve preserving their memory, but it can also mean carrying forward the values that guided them. In this case, Adam’s belief in the power of education has been translated into an institution designed to help children begin with stronger footing.
The tragedy of September 11, 2001, remains inseparable from the academy’s origins. Yet the school demonstrates how a family’s grief can become a sustained effort to create opportunity for others.
The story of 9/11 is not done being written.
Michaud’s words capture the continuing nature of that legacy. Twenty-five years later, the Adam J. Lewis Academy is adding to that story through each new class, each growing student and each family that finds opportunity within its community.
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