The criminal justice system is a complex network that profoundly affects millions of lives every year. For those navigating this system—whether individuals charged with federal crimes or the dedicated staff working within correctional facilities—the challenge of making informed, constructive decisions is tremendous. At the forefront of addressing this challenge is Prison Professors, a nonprofit organization committed to providing free educational resources aimed at improving outcomes for justice-impacted individuals. Michael Santos, founder of Prison Professors, recently shared insights into how their innovative online platform is making a measurable difference inside prisons across the United States.
A Mission to Support Better Decisions
Michael opens by emphasizing the organization's core mission: "Every day we look for opportunities to help people who are going through the criminal justice system make better decisions." This mission extends beyond just incarcerated individuals to include prison staff, who play a crucial role in rehabilitation and institutional safety. The goal is straightforward but ambitious—empower everyone involved to achieve better outcomes through education and engagement.
Education Made Accessible and Measurable
Prison Professors operates through its website, prisonprofessors.org, which offers self-directed learning programs—completely free of charge. Santos highlights some impressive statistics that illustrate the platform's reach and impact:
- Over 5,300 active program participants.
- Participants have authored more than 8.7 million words as part of their coursework.
- Accumulated points, a system that tracks engagement and achievement, exceed 40,000 points.
- Active participation spans 179 different correctional facilities nationwide, including federal and state prisons.
- Collaborations with partners like Dovo record more than 3 million learning hours logged on the platform.
- Prison Professors has served more than 510,000 unique learners across over 1,400 facilities, offering nearly 200 courses.
These data points not only demonstrate the platform's scalability but also its capacity to maintain meaningful engagement in a challenging environment.
Transparency and Real-Time Engagement: The Leaderboard Feature
One of the most novel aspects of Prison Professors is the transparency and immediacy it offers to both staff and learners. Michael Santos walks through the platform's "Leaderboards" feature, which allows users to view participation levels and rankings by facility. For example, at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Institutions in California—facilities that Santos himself has visited—the data shows:
- At Lompoc I, 436 points were earned by participants, marking an increase of 12 points that month.
- Lompoc II has 395 points accumulated, with 45 additional points gained recently.
- The satellite camp is also active, with noted individual participants like Andres Pucki recognized for their engagement.
These leaderboards allow correctional staff to see who is actively participating and excelling in the programs, fostering a sense of accountability and motivation among inmates. It also provides staff valuable insights into the progress and interest levels of the incarcerated population—a transparent window into educational activity within their institutions.
Supporting Correctional Staff in Their Vital Role
Santos underscores the importance of correctional staff's role in this educational journey. "I want to encourage staff members to use this because this is one of the strategies that we are building with hopes of making an impact on the Bureau of Prisons and helping staff members understand why their role is so important," he explains. Rather than seeing educational programs as an add-on, Prison Professors fosters a collaborative, integrated approach where correctional staff can actively support and track inmate progress.
This emphasis on partnership highlights a vital point: rehabilitation is not just about the incarcerated individuals but also about systemic support. When staff members recognize the tangible progress inmates are making, it creates a positive atmosphere conducive to better behavioral outcomes and a safer environment.
Defining Excellence and Advocating for Better Outcomes
Central to Prison Professors' philosophy is defining what constitutes the best possible outcome for someone entering the criminal justice system. Santos elaborates on this vision: "We define what the best possible outcome is... and persuade the agency to create filters or assessments to identify candidates for higher liberty levels at the earliest appropriate time."
In practice, this means advocating for policies and programs that enable individuals to move from high-security prisons to lower security levels, or qualify for community confinement and work release programs as soon as they are ready. Education serves as a key indicator of readiness for these transitions, supporting safer, more successful reintegration pathways.
A Model of Public-Private Partnership
Prison Professors embodies an effective public-private partnership model. As a nonprofit, it provides all education free of charge, investing in the long-term success of justice-impacted individuals without generating revenue. Santos emphasizes this by inviting more people to access the platform: "Everything is free... We're totally committed to improving outcomes for people who go through the system."
This model exemplifies how collaborative efforts between public agencies and private nonprofits can fill critical gaps in resources and expertise to deliver real, measurable benefits within correctional settings.
Conclusion: A Call to Action and Hope for the Future
Prison Professors stands as a beacon of hope and a powerful resource within the American correctional landscape. Through accessible and engaging educational programs, transparent tools to measure participation, and partnerships that include both inmates and staff, the organization is driving positive transformations.
Michael Santos' message is clear: education is a vital lever for change—not only for the incarcerated but for the entire prison ecosystem. He encourages all who are part of or interested in the justice system to visit prisonprofessors.org and engage with the free resources available.
In a system often viewed through a lens of punishment and limitation, Prison Professors offers a refreshing and essential narrative—one that empowers people to make better decisions, pursue excellence, and prepare for successful futures beyond incarceration. By doing so, they contribute to a safer society and a more effective criminal justice system for all.