Every September, the school bells ring for the first time, and my mom, Patty Lewis, pulls out her speaker. Blasting her favorite ’80s music, she welcomes students to the Adam J. Lewis Academy — a school named after my dad, her husband, Adam, who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.

My dad grew up in a one-bedroom apartment with his father in the Bronx, New York, attending the public elementary and middle schools in the area. His athletic talent earned him a scholarship to The Dalton School in Manhattan, where he was given the educational opportunity that changed his life. It shaped his belief that education was the ultimate equalizer: No matter where you come from, a strong educational foundation can create a level playing field.

He took that opportunity and ran with it. From Dalton, he went on to Hamilton College, where he met my mom, and eventually began his career at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a financial firm located in the Twin Towers.

When the family grew to four children — Reilly, Sam, Sophie and me — my mom stepped away from teaching to raise us. My dad, an ever-present father, commuted back and forth from New York City to Connecticut, making sure we always felt seen, heard and cared for. Providing for his family meant everything to him, and he understood that his own educational opportunity had made that life possible.

A decade after 9/11, my mom returned to education, working in admissions at my private school in Westport, Connecticut. She interviewed hundreds of children from neighboring communities, including Bridgeport, a lower-income town with less than satisfactory public schools, and saw firsthand how many potential students lacked the foundational skills needed to succeed. Too often, those children were turned away. 

She began to wonder: What if someone created a high-quality early childhood program that gave these students the foundation they needed?

The idea stayed with her. Eventually, she shared it with her friend and former teacher, Julie Mombello. Julie initially called her “nuts,” but then listened for six hours as my mom explained how the right educational opportunity could change a child’s life — just as it had changed my dad’s.

In 2011, The Adam J. Lewis Preschool was officially incorporated. Now, my mom needed a building, a permit and a staff. 

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. 

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.