Accredited in 2016 Graduate School of Education[edit] The Graduate School of Education opened in September 2007, offering Master of Education Degrees (M.Ed) in Teacher Leadership and School Leadership to educators in and outside of the network of High Tech High schools.[41] In 2012, the school was granted candidacy for accreditation by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges),[42] and the school became fully accredited in 2016. The school’s president, Dr. Rob Riordan, formerly a leader of the teaching practicum at the Harvard Graduate School of Education[43] worked with school founder Larry Rosenstock on the New Urban High School Project and as High Tech High’s “Emperor of Rigor".[44] According to administrative dean Allison Ohle, the school emphasizes “the value of collaboration and real-life experiences”.[45] Like the credential program, the graduate school emphasizes a clinical and practical approach while also exploring educational theory. Students are required to complete an “action research” project during the second year of the program, in which they explore a learning problem or wondering within their own school site. The results are published in the required thesis.[46] Students develop skills to work collaboratively and design courses in which their own students “construct new knowledge” and “pursue their passions.”[47] The Graduate School of Education hosts residencies, institutes, and workshops and its students participate in the High Tech High Summer Institute.[48]