Maximum Security Prison Education Reaches a New Milestone at CSP-LAC October 22, 2026 On October 14, Students and partners of The Last Mile gathered behind a red and gold ribbon, with scissors poised at its center, to celebrate a new chapter in maximum security prison education for The Last Mile. By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile. At California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, we celebrated our first classroom inside a Level IV maximum-security facility. The Audio Video Production program combines practical technical training with secure technology and live remote instruction. Students from multiple security levels will also learn together, another first for TLM. The opening creates a place where students can develop skills, ask questions, and work alongside classmates toward shared goals. It also brings a consequential idea into practice: meaningful access to technology and educators can belong within maximum-security settings. Building the infrastructure for maximum security prison education Creating a classroom like this requires educators, engineers, and correctional partners to solve a shared challenge. Students need useful tools and access to qualified teachers. Facility staff need an environment that fits institutional security requirements and daily operations. TLM has spent years developing secure educational infrastructure for correctional settings. Across our platform, that work includes managed devices, controlled application access, user permissions, and system monitoring. These capabilities help bring instruction and coursework into environments with demanding security requirements. At CSP-LAC, the new classroom extends that work into a significant setting for our organization. Its importance lies in bringing the necessary pieces together: educational technology, human instruction, and cooperation within the institution. That integration makes the opening meaningful for students. The classroom gives them a place to practice unfamiliar skills and a connection to people who can help them improve. Kevin McCracken Speaks at the LAC Ribboncutting Why live remote instruction matters Learning a technical skill involves moments when an explanation needs to change. A student may understand an assignment yet struggle to complete a particular step. Another may need to hear a concept explained differently before it makes sense. Live remote instruction makes that exchange possible. An educator can answer a question, ask what the student has tried, and adjust the explanation. Students can describe their reasoning and receive feedback while working through a problem. As we explored in our recent article on human feedback in prison education, responsive teaching sits at the center of TLM’s approach. Technology provides the connection through which those relationships develop. For maximum security prison education, that connection carries particular significance. It creates access to teaching expertise beyond the facility’s physical boundaries. Instructors can contribute their knowledge without traveling to the classroom for every lesson. The educational value grows through repeated exchanges. Students gain opportunities to ask better questions, apply feedback, and return to difficult work with greater understanding. Chris Schuhmacher, Founder of Fitness Monkey and TLM Alumnus , Addresses the audience at the LAC Ribboncutting Learning together across security levels CSP-LAC also marks TLM’s first classroom designed to bring students from multiple security levels together. This shared environment gives collaboration a central place in the program. Audio and video production offer practical reasons to work with other people. A project can involve discussing an idea, making creative decisions, and responding to feedback. Classmates bring different perspectives to those decisions, creating opportunities to explain choices and learn from one another. The significance extends to the expectations a classroom establishes. Students can contribute knowledge, seek help, and take responsibility for shared work. Each interaction provides practice in the communication and accountability that professional environments require. Creating room for those exchanges takes coordination and trust among the people responsible for the classroom. Our partners have helped establish a setting where students from different security levels can pursue a common educational purpose. Chris Schuhmacher brings the alumni journey into focus Among the speakers was TLM alumnus Chris Schuhmacher, founder of Fitness Monkey. His presence connected the new classroom with a journey that began in another TLM learning environment. At San Quentin, Schuhmacher developed the Fitness Monkey concept through our entrepreneurship program. He later joined TLM’s coding program and began learning the skills needed to build it. After release, he developed a career in software engineering and eventually launched the app. In our earlier interview about Fitness Monkey, he described reaching the point where he could bring that idea to life. “I thought this was something that I could finally build myself,” he said. “And so I did.” Speaking at CSP-LAC, Schuhmacher brought that experience into the room alongside TLM Executive Director Kevin McCracken. His story illustrates how learning inside prison can continue to shape someone’s work years after release. The knowledge gained in a classroom can become a foundation for future projects, employment, and ideas that serve other people. The partnerships that make access possible This opening reflects the collaboration of The Last Mile, CALCTRA, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Their shared work connects educational goals with the people and systems necessary to deliver them inside the facility. We thank CALCTRA Director Suzie Changus, LAC Warden Brian Allo, and CALCTRA CTE Program Manager April Clark. Each joined the celebration as a speaker, alongside McCracken and Schuhmacher. Our gratitude also extends to the educators, technical teams, and facility staff whose work supports the classroom. For donors and prospective partners, CSP-LAC makes the purpose of educational investment tangible. Equipment, instruction, technical support, and institutional cooperation all contribute to students’ access. Sustaining that access requires continued attention to the classroom long after its opening ceremony. An Audio/Visual Engineering Student of The Last Mile explains his work in LAC’s new learning facility What comes after the ribbon cutting The next chapter of maximum security prison education at CSP-LAC will unfold through the work students undertake. Its value will emerge in questions answered, projects revised, and skills developed through practice. This opening expands what The Last Mile can offer within a maximum-security environment. Students now have a new place to learn with others and connect with educators beyond prison walls. Support The Last Mile to help sustain educational materials, technology, and preparation for life after incarceration. With committed partners and continued support, classrooms like this can give more people the opportunity to build something of their own. By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile. Want articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to The Last Mile Marker. This is a biweekly newsletter offering in-depth insights, critical updates, and inspiring stories on criminal justice reform and second chances.