Featuring Jean Dorcey, instructor of special education at Wayne State College.
After teaching for nearly four decades, most people would start to slow down - but Jean Dorcey says she’s just getting started. Dorcey, a special education instructor at Wayne State, is this week’s subject of the Faculty Spotlight Series.
Dorcey, a native of Wolbach, Neb., served seven years as an adjunct faculty member at Wayne State before becoming full-time in 2020, but she’s been a special education fixture in Northeast Nebraska for 39 years.
Dorcey began her teaching career at Hartington Public Schools and then taught secondary special education for 29 years at Wakefield Community Schools. She worked with students qualifying with high and low incidence disabilities as well as non-English or emergent speakers. Dorcey also taught the Wakefield Afterschool Program to provide academic assistance to 7-12 grade students and teach them study skills.
“As educators, we must be prepared to teach all students, and these students come into our classroom with different strengths and challenges,” said Dorcey. “Special education courses give teaching candidates the strategies necessary to support and engage students with disabilities in the classroom, so that they can be successful in and out of the classroom. I graduated from Wayne State with a bachelor's degree in Special Education, so I know from personal experience that the foundation our students receive sets them off with the tools that they need to be successful teachers.”
“Teaching candidates can tailor the program to meet their strengths and interests,” continued Dorcey. “They can obtain a bachelor's degree in Special Education, with an endorsement in Early Childhood Inclusive, K-8 Generalist, 6-12 Generalist, or K-12 Generalist. This allows them to teach special education at a variety of levels based on their degree.”
Dorcey said she’s starting to see the results in her former students who are doing great things in the field of special education.
“I have worked with so many amazing teaching candidates who are currently teaching special education,” said Dorcey. “We hosted a job expo this spring with Educational Service Unit No. 1 and many of our neighboring schools attended. Several of my former special education teaching candidates brought high school students to this event. It was wonderful to talk with them and hear about the programs that they have developed at their schools to support transition.”
Not all students learn in the same way, and there is a high demand for qualified special education teachers who can provide personalized instruction and support to students with disabilities, or students who may face unique challenges.
In the Special Education degree program at Wayne State, students learn how to provide individualized instruction tailored to the unique needs of students with exceptionalities. They also learn about special education law and develop the advocacy skills needed to ensure their students receive the resources, support, and accommodations they need.
Special education teachers also collaborate with other professionals, such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists to address the needs of their students. The Special Education degree program at Wayne State helps students develop the collaboration strategies they’ll need to work with professional service providers, agencies, and parents.
Dorcey's research centers on using metacognition to strengthen learning for students qualifying for special education. Additionally, she is interested in researching methods to build self-advocacy skills in learners as well as developing appropriate individualized transition plans for postsecondary goals.
Dorcey earned her bachelor of arts degree in Education (Mildly/Moderately Handicapped, K-12) and her master of Education degree from Wayne State College.
Fun Fact: “I have a ‘twin’ who is not biologically related to me. We’re just like sisters – we met and became friends when we attended Wayne State College as special education majors. We taught in Hartington Public Schools to start our careers. We then married brothers, and we have shared the same name, ‘Jean Marie Dorcey,’ for more than 30 years.”