On leadership: When activists speak with sound and fury

School board meetings have become increasingly contentious in recent months, but, as Josh Starr explains, the tactics activists are using are not new. During his career as a district leader, he saw parents and other members of the public approach school boards with constant demands that their particular concerns receive attention. When these issues are on the fringe or outside the board’s purview, yet activists engage in increasingly outrageous behavior, leaders develop the habit of tuning out public voices, which serves no one.

THE LIFE PATH OF IVAN CHERVAK («DNISTROVYI») - A KNIGHT OF THE SILVER CROSS OF MERIT OF THE UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY

The research deals with the life and military path of Ivan Chervak («Dnistrovyi») (1923–1953). He was a leading person of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists' Youth department in Stanislaviv region (now - Ivano-Frankivsk region), a political educator at the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), one of the leaders of the OUN's armed underground in Zakerzonnia, the commander of a courier group that provided communication on the «Carpathians-Zakerzonnia–western zones of German occupation» line, and the Zolochiv district leader. By the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council's decision and the Main Team of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, I. Chervak was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit because of selfless work and struggle for the Ukrainian state. Particular attention is paid to forming the future leader's personality, family upbringing, and education. I. Chervak's administrative work​​in the OUN, UIA divisions, the OUN's armed underground, his career growth from an ordinary member to the head of one of the most important structural units of the Ukrainian liberation movement of 1940-1950 in Western Ukraine was analyzed. The author determined pseudonyms and cryptonyms used by I. Chervak, being in an illegal position and acting in the UIA ranks and the OUN underground, under which he was noted by the USLC, which he signed memoirs and journalistic articles. Activities of the Soviet repressive and punitive system to identify I. Chervak and attempt to liquidate him with agents and military-chekist operations were recreated. The last activities of the district leader and OUN battle groups that covered him have been revealed in detail, and the circumstances that led to his death together with the typist Stefaniia Virlyk («Kalyna») and the last battle of the Knight of the OUN and UIA. Keywords: Ivan Chervak, «Dnistrovyi», «Oles», Silver Cross of Merit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Knight of the OUN and UIA, Zolochiv District of the OUN, Zakerzonnia, armed underground of the OUN.

Teacher shortage as a local phenomenon: District leader sensemaking, responses, and implications for policy

While the teacher shortage is a national crisis, the manifestations of the shortage are felt most acutely at the local district level. The diversity of these micro-contexts often leads to disparities in the ways local school systems are served by large-scale initiatives. District leaders provide an important lens for understanding the localized manifestation of teacher shortages. This research contributes to the existing macro-level literature on teacher shortages through investigation of the ways in which district leaders in West Virginia make sense of and respond to the teacher shortage. As part of a broader study, we share analyses of interviews with seven district leaders across five county school districts and highlight the ways in which leaders made sense of the phenomenon in paradoxical ways, both in terms of the most salient causes as well as the perceived locus of control in addressing the teacher shortage. Findings also highlight the way district leader sensemaking led to action, with responses differing based on relative affordances of metropolitan versus rural contexts. We conclude with implications for policy and research to further understand the local nature of teacher shortages and to address the problem, particularly in rural contexts underserved by current research and policy.

Konstruksi Makna Kandidat Politik Dalam Pemilu Kepala Daerah Bagi Masyarakat Kota Bandung (Perspektif Komunikasi Politik)

Bandung is the first city in Indonesia who respond to the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK), which allows candidates for district heads to be submitted individually not proposed by political parties and its implemented already in May 2008 elections. In the next period, candidates from individual lines are increasingly showing their enthusiasm, It can be seen in Bandung Mayor Elections in 2013 where four of the eight candidates who volunteered came from the individual path. The high enthusiasm of the Bandung community towards the nomination of regional heads from individual channels is an interesting phenomenon to be studied, especially from the voters’s point of view.This study aims to investigate how Bandung people interpret and construct the meaning of perseorangant candidates and how they construct the comparison between perseorangant candidates and party representative candidates in the perspective of political communication. Method used in this study is phenomenological method by conducting in-depth interview with 20 active voters from different occupation and education background in Bandung. The result indicates that informants interpret the existence of perseorangant candidates as the manifestation of genuine democracy, which based on the equality of rights and obligations of Indonesian people wherein civil people are able and allowed to nominate themselves as the district leader without have to join a political party. Moreover, being a party representative or an perseorangant one is not the primary consideration for the informants in determining their choice during the election. Informants emphasize that the worthiness of a leader shown by his characters, track record, achievements, and his social approach, not merely a party representative or perseorangant one. Kota Bandung tercatat sebagai kota pertama di Indonesia yang pada Pemilu Walikota tahun 2008 mengimplementasikan hasil keputusan Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK) yang membolehkan calon kepala daerah diajukan secara perseorangan (bukan diajukan oleh partai politik). Pada periode berikutnya, calon dari jalur perseorangan makin menunjukkan antusiasmenya, hal ini terlihat pada Pemilu Walikota Bandung tahun 2013 dimana empat dari delapan calon yang mengajukan diri berasal dari jalur perseorangan. Antusiasme masyarakat kota Bandung yang tinggi terhadap pencalonan kepala daerah dari jalur perseorangan merupakan fenomena yang menarik untuk dikaji, khususnya dari sudut pandang pemilih. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji bagaimana masyarakat mengkonstruksi makna calon dari jalur perseorangan dan calon dari partai politik dengan menggunakan perspektif komunikasi politik. Penelitian ini menerapkan metode fenomenologi dengan melakukan wawancara mendalam terhadap 10 pemilih aktif di kota Bandung dari berbagai latar belakang pekerjaan dan pendidikan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa informan memaknai keberadaan calon dari jalur perseorangan sebagai bentuk perwujudan demokrasi yang berlandaskan pada prinsip kesamaan hak dan kewajiban bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia, dimana seseorang bisa mencalonkan dirinya sebagai calon kepala daerah tanpa harus menjadi bagian atau kader dari partai politik tertentu. Selain itu, informan juga memaknai pencalonan dari jalur perseorangan maupun dari jalur partai bukanlah faktor yang signifikan bagi mereka dalam menentukan pilihan. Informan memandang bahwa faktor utama penentu layak atau tidaknya seseorang dipilih menjadi kepala daerah adalah karakter, prestasi dan pendekatannya terhadap masyarakat, bukan dari soal dari jalur pencalonan mana dia berasal.

PERAN PEMIMPIN DALAM PELAYANAN PUBLIK DI KANTOR CAMAT XIII KOTA KAMPAR KABUPATEN KAMPAR

District XIII Kampar City is one of the districts in Kampar regency. The number of sub-districts in Kabupaten Kampar reaches 21 districts. District XIII Koto Kampar consists of 13 villages that have various potentials that can be developed and economic value. Like Muara Takus temple located in Muara Takus village, Salai Patin processing in Desa Mosque and Pulo Simo Waterfall in Tanjung Alai Village.All these potentials are very proud for the Government and the people of District XIII Kampar City. It's just that this has not been managed with the maximum. This is evidenced by inadequate road access to reach the site.Therefore, the role of leaders needed to overcome them. According Sinambela (2014), the role of leaders in public services is to provide motivation, create a pleasant atmosphere, coordinate and implement the policy. From the results of the research, the District Leader XIII Koto Kampar has performed its role well. Where Sub District as a Local Government Apparatus District is the spearhead of the implementation of government. Whereas the sub-district with the number of apparatus that has not been complete and supported with the existing agency. The Camat office is a government, development and community administrator supported by the agency office, the sub-district administration is led by a subdistrict head who is in charge of the government with the help of the staff of the Kecamatan Office and the existing department in the sub-district and the village administration.

Nepotism and the Jackson County School Board

In 2015, the superintendent of the Jackson County School District revised the existing nepotism policy, and, subsequently, his wife was hired to a newly created position of director of innovation at a salary nearly twice the average paid to teachers in the district. Because of community reaction, the Jackson County School Board met in special session to address the situation. This case, presented in three sequential parts, raises a number of questions: When does nepotism exist? What constitutes unethical behavior on the part of a school district leader? How should a school superintendent react when confronted by alleged misconduct? How should a school board proceed when faced with community outrage? How can a school board regain public trust? This case can be useful in graduate courses to generate discussion of ethical behavior and the consequences of unethical behavior in educational leadership and administration.