At Prison Professors, we believe progress should be visible.
Every journal entry, book report, release plan, testimonial, achievement, and completed profile tells a story. It shows effort. It shows discipline. It shows a person choosing to prepare, grow, and build a stronger future.
That is why we created our point system.
The point system is not just a number on a profile. It is a way for people to document the work they are doing. It helps participants show that they are using their time productively, contributing to a positive community, and taking measurable steps toward success.
When members of our community work to earn points, they are not only helping themselves. They are advancing the mission of Prison Professors.
Points and Advocacy
Our mission is to bring more opportunities for people to earn freedom through merit. To get that result, we need to think about the people we need to convince. For that reason, we invest heavily to help justice-impacted people prepare for success through education, accountability, and personal development. The point system supports that mission by giving participants a clear way to measure and document their progress.
Points may come from activities such as:
Creating a profile
Writing a biography
Submitting journal entries
Completing book reports
Preparing release plans
Documenting achievements
Receiving approved testimonials
Helping others become active in the community
Each of these actions reflects a person’s self-directed decision to grow.
A person who writes a journal entry is practicing self-reflection. A person who completes a book report is strengthening critical thinking. A person who creates a release plan is preparing for the future. A person who helps others join the platform is contributing to a culture of accountability and positive influence.
That is how individual effort becomes collective impact.
Making the System Clearer
Recently, one of our ambassadors brought an important question to our team. While reviewing participant profiles and helping others engage with the platform, she noticed that some numbers related to Impact Scores, Tribe Points, and Tribe Members were difficult to understand.
She raised the question in a constructive way, with specific examples and a desire to help us improve.
Our technology team reviewed the data and confirmed that the points were being calculated according to the current rules. At the same time, we identified an area where the website could be clearer.
The profile page was showing the size of the broader tribe a person belonged to, rather than the number of people that person had personally brought into the network. That created confusion because two different ideas were being displayed side by side:
The larger tribe someone belonged to
The referral network that contributed to that person’s tribe points
Those are not the same thing.
We updated the profile page so that “Tribe Members” now better aligns with the referral-based structure used for tribe points. This improvement makes the information more consistent, more transparent, and easier for participants, ambassadors, facilitators, and staff to understand.
Understanding Individual Points and Tribe Points
The point system includes two main categories.
Individual Points reflect a person’s own activity. These points come from the work someone does personally, such as creating content, completing assignments, documenting achievements, and building a stronger profile.
Tribe Points reflect the activity of people connected through a referral network. When someone helps bring others into the community, and those people become active, that activity can contribute to the original person’s tribe points.
This distinction shows that being part of a tribe is not the same as personally recruiting or onboarding participants. A person may belong to a large tribe, but that does not necessarily mean the person has personally referred others. Likewise, someone may be doing meaningful facilitation work that does not yet appear fully in the point system unless the referral relationship is properly recorded.
That insight is helping us think more deeply about how to recognize facilitation.
Recognizing People Who Help Others
Many people in our community do more than work on their own profiles. They help others get started. They lead workshops. They encourage participation. They assist people in writing bios, submitting content, and learning how to document their progress.
That kind of leadership strengthens the community. It helps more people engage with positive programming. It supports a culture where people encourage one another to grow.
We are continuing to evaluate how the platform can better recognize that kind of contribution. Some possibilities include clearer referral tracking, facilitation points, badges, or other forms of recognition for people who consistently help others participate.
The goal is simple: we want the website to reflect real effort as accurately and fairly as possible.
Points Are More Than Scores
We encourage every participant to see points as more than a score.
Points show that a person is working. They show that a person is learning. They show that a person is preparing. They show that a person is using time in a constructive way.
For people in prison, that record can become especially important. Staff members, case managers, administrators, and community stakeholders need tools that help them identify positive adjustment, personal growth, and consistent engagement. A clear point system can help make that progress easier to see.
That is why we are working to make the system stronger.
We want staff members to be able to understand the points. We want participants to trust the points. We want ambassadors and facilitators to know that their work matters. And we want the broader community to see how personal development connects to public safety, successful reentry, and a better future.
Advancing the Mission Together
Every time someone earns points, that person contributes to something larger.
A completed profile helps tell a story of preparation.
A journal entry helps build self-awareness.
A book report helps show learning.
A release plan helps demonstrate readiness.
A testimonial helps validate growth.
A referral helps expand the community.
A facilitator helps someone else begin the journey.
Together, those actions advance the Prison Professors mission.
They show that people are not waiting passively for time to pass. They are building records. They are creating accountability. They are preparing for opportunities. They are helping others do the same.
We are grateful to the members of our community who help us improve the platform. When ambassadors, facilitators, participants, and staff raise thoughtful questions, they help us build a better system for everyone.
We will continue improving step by step.
Our goal is to make the Prison Professors website more transparent, more useful, and more effective for every person who wants to document growth, earn recognition, and contribute to a community built on accountability and preparation.
When you work to earn points, you are building a record of progress and you are advancing the mission–being the change that we all want to see.