{"id":5593,"date":"2026-05-29T14:21:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/?p=5593"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:21:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:21:32","slug":"damon-lewis-educational-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/damon-lewis-educational-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing the Narrative: The Leadership Journey of Dr. Damon Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On the first Wednesday of every month, the front doors of Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy swing open.<\/p>\n<p>Parents, caregivers, and community members come in, not for a presentation or a planned tour, but to see the school as it <em>really is<\/em>. They walk the halls during class, look into classrooms, and listen to students learning.<\/p>\n<p>Even with over 650 students in the building, the hallways stay calm and focused on learning. \u201cYou can stand at one end of the hallway and look all the way down, and see no one,\u201d says Dr. Damon Lewis, principal of Ponus Ridge.<\/p>\n<p>Fourteen years ago, this scene would have been hard to imagine. Now, it\u2019s a clear sign of a school and a leader who have worked hard to change the story.<\/p>\n<h2>A choice made in a dorm room<\/h2>\n<p>Long before national recognition and transformed hallways, Dr. Lewis was a college student at University of Connecticut with a very different plan. He entered undergraduate studies intending to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/11-reasons-to-pursue-an-mba-in-2025\/\">pursue business<\/a>, imagining a future that included a corner office and financial success.<\/p>\n<p>Then the letters from his mother began to arrive.<\/p>\n<p>While he was away at school, his mother started sending him newspaper clippings from the Connecticut Post. The stories were about young people from their Bridgeport neighborhood who were making poor choices. Some were people he knew, even friends, whose lives had taken a wrong turn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember sitting in my dorm room and calling my mother,\u201d recounted Lewis. \u201cI called her and said, \u2018I\u2019m going to change my major.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This wasn\u2019t a slow, agonizing decision. It was sudden and deeply personal. \u201cHow selfish was it of me to chase that million-dollar dream,\u201d he remembers thinking, \u201cWhen there are people who could benefit from a young Black man in education, giving back to his community.\u201d That day, he decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/tips-for-choosing-your-college-major\/\">switch his major<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/academics\/programs\/english-professional-writing-bs\/\">English<\/a> and Sociology. \u201cI gave up a million dollars before I ever even had it in my hand,\u201d he says, \u201cAnd I never looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Coming home to teach<\/h2>\n<p>After graduating from UConn, Lewis returned home to Bridgeport to begin his journey into teaching. While earning his master\u2019s degree at University of Bridgeport, he went back to where it all started \u2014 interning at Harding High School, where he had attended as a teen.<\/p>\n<p>While completing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/academics\/schools-colleges\/school-education\/tuition-paid-internship\">UB\u2019s paid-internship program<\/a>, he worked at Harding during the day and took Education courses at night, fully immersed in the daily realities of being a full-time working adult and student. This experience shaped him in ways that no textbook ever could. It was during his internship that a student pulled him aside and put words to what Lewis was feeling that day in his dorm room. \u201cThey told me I was a father figure,\u201d he says. \u201cThat I was firm but fair. I had expectations and that I taught them self-respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That moment made everything clear. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have that experience in a corner office,\u201d he says. \u201cNot even close.\u201d Lewis knew then he had made the right choice.<\/p>\n<h2>Learning to lead<\/h2>\n<p>Lewis started at Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk, CT in 2010 as an assistant principal. When he became principal, he took his time and didn\u2019t make big changes right away. He focused on listening first. \u201cThat\u2019s why we have two ears, two eyes, and one mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He met with families and his staff. He observed classrooms, paying attention to culture and climate (understanding that they were not the same thing). Slowly and intentionally, he began to reshape both.<\/p>\n<p>Central to that work was creating opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t guarantee success. But I can guarantee opportunity regardless of where you come from, who raised you, or the color of your skin.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Transforming a school<\/h2>\n<p>Under Lewis\u2019s leadership, Ponus Ridge became Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy, a shift that went far beyond just a name change. Today at Ponus Ridge, coding is taught to every sixth grader. Students explore robotics, immersive media, music technology, and advanced art. More than 20 after-school clubs keep the building buzzing long after dismissal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re preparing kids for jobs that don\u2019t exist yet,\u201d says Lewis. \u201cThey don\u2019t know they\u2019ll need these skills. But they will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Families started to notice. Enrollment grew quickly. Now, students from 10 out of 11 Norwalk elementary schools choose Ponus Ridge. Sixth and seventh grades are full. Fourteen years ago, it was the other way around. \u201cThe school has really been transformed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Lewis, the real proof came a few years ago, not from applause, but from data.<\/p>\n<h2>The moment it clicked<\/h2>\n<p>State assessments showed strong performance across the board. More importantly, the School Accountability Index revealed no achievement gaps between multilingual learners, special education students, and their peers. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew,\u201d Lewis says. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ve got something here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chronic absenteeism fell sharply from almost 30 percent to less than eight percent. This change didn\u2019t happen by chance. It took emails and letters home, visits to families, and honest talks about why being at school matters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSchool is too important,\u201d said Lewis. \u201cWay too important.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Learning to lead together<\/h2>\n<p>At first, Lewis thought being a leader meant doing everything himself. Over time, his thinking changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t do it all. You\u2019ll never sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by his studies and experience, Lewis embraced distributive leadership, trusting the team he built and focusing on the bigger picture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you hire the right people, and you trust them, things take off,\u201d shared Lewis.<\/p>\n<h2>A foundation for success<\/h2>\n<p>Lewis earned three degrees from University of Bridgeport: a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/academics\/programs\/sec-edu-ms-cert\/\">master\u2019s in Education<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/academics\/programs\/sec-edu-ms-cert\/\">Sixth-Year Certificate<\/a>, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/academics\/programs\/edu-leadership-edd-hybrid\/\">doctorate in Educational Leadership<\/a>. \u201cSixty percent of my education happened right there on Park Avenue,\u201d he says. \u201cI owe a lot to UB.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His preparation was practical, rigorous, and deeply connected to the realities of schools. Lewis still draws on his UB education every day.<\/p>\n<p>In early 2025, Lewis was named Connecticut\u2019s Middle School Principal of the Year and National Middle School Principal of the Year from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Still, he deflects that spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won the award. But it\u2019s always a \u2018we\u2019 award.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Open door policy<\/h2>\n<p>On Walk-Through Wednesdays, Dr. Lewis greets families at the door and invites them to see what Ponus Ridge is like now. \u201cNo script,\u201d he says. \u201cJust come in.\u201d This open invitation comes from years of hard work and confidence. The hallways are quiet, the students are engaged, and the school\u2019s reputation has changed.<\/p>\n<p>Lewis keeps that tradition alive by welcoming UB interns to Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy. He gives future teachers the same real-world experience that shaped his own career. For him, mentoring new educators is an important responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>UB is proud to honor Dr. Damon Lewis and celebrate his inspiring journey in educational leadership.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/landingpages\/edd\"><em>Learn more about the hybrid Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership at University of Bridgeport.<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the first Wednesday of every month, the front doors of Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy swing open. Parents, caregivers, and community members come in, not for a presentation or a planned tour, but to see the school as it really &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgeport.edu\/news\/damon-lewis-educational-leadership\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Changing the Narrative: The Leadership Journey of Dr. Damon Lewis<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":5597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,128,94],"tags":[74,81,84,213,110,412],"class_list":["post-5593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-engineering-business-education","category-featured","tag-doctor-of-education","tag-doctorate-of-education","tag-educational-leadership","tag-masters-degrees-in-education","tag-school-of-education","tag-school-principal","fallback-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Educational Leadership: Dr. Damon Lewis | University of Bridgeport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"University of Bridgeport alum Dr. Damon Lewis is transforming Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy through student-focused leadership and innovation. 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