CONFIRMED: Vander Ark Leaves Top Gates Post

For once, the rumors were right. As I first reported a couple of days ago (How Soon Until Gates Guru Goes?), it's now confirmed that Tom Vander Ark is leaving the top education post at the Gates Foundation at the end of the year. It's the very rare exclusive/scoop from TWIE, thanks to my secret informants.

From the press release: "After more than seven years in this important role, Tom has decided that he will move from overseeing the foundation’s Education initiative to the role of Senior Fellow at the foundation at the end of the year. We are all extremely grateful for Tom’s contributions and continued commitment to our goals. At the same time, we respect and appreciate Tom’s decision to explore new options after shaping and leading our education work."

Let the speculation begin about why he's leaving, and who -- an outsider, an insider, a noneducator -- will get this top education job. More importantly, will Gates be smarter under new leadership, or just bigger?

Update: Educators React to Shift in Leadership at Gates Fund NYT