Christine V. Lesniewski '75

Christine V. Lesniewski earned her degree in Education from UWM in 1975, specializing in the education of special needs students. She subsequently taught for 34 years in the Milwaukee Public Schools and surrounding districts, in a variety of specializations. She became one of the first teachers in an MPS program for autistic children. She worked to implement special needs testing for children in their own primary language, drawing on her own experience as a person whose first language is Polish. Through her classroom and school level work, her leadership in the MPS teachers’ union, before regional and state legislators, and with the “Rethinking Schools” movement, she sought to work with all the stakeholders and both political parties to improve educational outcomes for all students. She also served as an Adjunct Professor of Education at UWM.