Denise Porter

Denise Porter has worked at UChicago STEM Education Since 2004. She works with students, teachers, principals and district leaders to strive for high-quality teaching and learning of mathematics. She is the PI for the Big Shoulders Fund Mathematics Initiative. The initiative involves working with over 20 Chicago Catholic Schools with the end goal of developing sustainable structures in order to build capacity for school-based math leadership teams comprised of administrators and teacher leaders. Porter is also the Co-PI for an MSP grant partnership with Champaign Unit 4 Schools. Porter has also served as PI for the 2018 Southside Summer STEM Camp, which provide a platform for children to build passion and confidence in STEM fields through a deep dive into targeted content and foster growth mindset ideals.

Porter provides extensive mathematics professional development and coaching in Chicagoland area and throughout the United States. She works with district leaders to build a comprehensive professional development and coaching plans that best meet the needs of the district. She has also taught pre-service math methods courses in the University of Chicago’s Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) and also teaches courses for inservice teachers in the Elementary Mathematics Specialist masters degree program.

Denise holds a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education from Iowa State University and a Masters of Education from the University of Houston.