In a surprise move, Susan Patrick, head of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, announced July 26 that she will leave the Bush administration in August to assume control of the Virginia-based North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL).

Patrick made the decision to step down as the nation's top ed-tech administrator after less than two years on the job. "I didn't plan to leave the department," she said of her new role as president and chief executive of the nonprofit NACOL. "But this was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."

When contacted by an eSchool News reporter, the Education Department (ED) confirmed that Patrick will step down effective Aug. 6. Though the administration has yet to name a successor, officials said they will be "actively looking" to fill the position.

ED officials said there are no immediate plans for changing the federal office, but they stopped short of guaranteeing its long-term survival, noting that Education Secretary Margaret Spellings will evaluate the department's "technology needs externally and internally before making any decisions."

But Patrick's departure, though sudden, is probably less drastic than it might appear. With President Bush safely locked into a second term, Patrick, like many other outgoing government officials before her, says the time is right to pursue new opportunities.

Perhaps best-known for her role in helping to create the latest National Educational Technology Plan (NETP), Patrick spoke with eSchool News about the reasons behind her departure and her new role as a national figurehead for the advancement of virtual learning.

"I really felt like I accomplished a lot during the three and half years I was with the administration," she said, pointing to the release of the NETP and the creation of summer leadership conferences designed to help educators understand the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law as proof that she had accomplished the bulk of what she set out to do when taking over in March of last year (see "ED's new tech chief sets her agenda").

Patrick, an agency veteran, was appointed by former Education Secretary Rod Paige to fill the post vacated by her predecessor, John Bailey, who left to help with President Bush's reelection campaign.

And her contributions have not gone unnoticed.

"As director of the Office of Educational Technology, Susan Patrick has played an integral role in the implementation of No Child Left Behind," said ED's chief of staff, David Dunn. "She successfully led the department's efforts on the 2004 National Education Technology Plan and has spent several years developing and coordinating the department's educational technology policies. Susan shares our goal that every child can learn and has worked tirelessly to help provide leadership to the nation in the use of technology to promote achievement."