Time Well Spent: How Technology in Corrections is Changing Lives Through Education
Published:
Excerpt from GeekWire, published November 21, 2025
By David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez & Jamie Newberry
November marks National Education Month, a time to reflect on the power of learning to shape lives, communities, and futures. For both of us, education in prison is not an abstract concept, it’s personal. One of us spent 17 years working inside correctional facilities, helping build education programs from the ground up. The other spent 31 years incarcerated, where learning was a lifeline and a launchpad to a new life. Though our paths are vastly different, we share a belief that time alone doesn’t change people, but rather how they use it, especially through education.
For decades, prison education has been limited. Traditional classroom models reached only a fraction of the population due to staffing shortages, security constraints, and physical space limitations. Most incarcerated individuals were left without the opportunity to learn, earn credentials, or prepare for life after release.
That’s changing.