From Budget Cuts to Breakthroughs: How AI Changed the Game in One School

While school districts across the country are grappling with how to leverage AI, one Washington state school is already putting it into action. 

Henderson Bay High School - an alternative school in the Peninsula School District (PSD) serving 120 students in grades 9-12 - has a student body with significantly higher rates of low-income students and students with disabilities than the district average. Historically, both ELA proficiency and graduation rates have hovered below 40%. Faced with an urgent need for school improvement while navigating a $12.5 million district-wide budget shortfall, the district needed to get creative to find a solution. After some intentional planning, they launched an AI integration pilot at Henderson Bay, aiming to boost student outcomes while improving operational efficiency. 

Due to the budget shortfall, James Cantonwine, Director of Research and Assessment, knew there would be constraints on what was possible, and saw the potential of AI being a partial solution to their problems.  Not only could it support students, but he also saw it as a chance to ease an administrative burden on teachers.  PSD began their AI outreach back in December of 2022 in high school English classes, giving students and staff time to adjust to the idea and voice any concerns.   

After their initial outreach, PSD officially launched their AI integration pilot in 2023. The pilot began by leveraging AI to support the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies—an effort the district had been advancing for the past seven years. “UDL is hard for a lot of teachers,” explained Kris Hagel, Chief Information Officer. “While it’s best for kids, it can be more labor-intensive for teachers, so we’re working to make that process simpler.” Staff at Henderson High School partnered with Novak Education and participated in three days of professional development, exploring how AI can support instructional shifts aligned with UDL principles. Today, students are using AI in the classroom to generate personalized scaffolds and supports tailored to their individual learning needs.  For example, teachers are guiding students in creating personalized AI tutor bots—an approach that Hagel has seen make a real impact. In chemistry classes, students use these bots to break down complex concepts, while in English/ELA, they adjust reading levels to better match individual comprehension. As a result, students are taking more initiative and thriving in their learning. 

In just the first year of implementation from school year 2023-2024, Henderson Bay High School saw a 22-point increase in ELA proficiency and a 25-point rise in graduation rates – an impressive improvement that speaks to the impact of using AI thoughtfully. While other factors contributed to this remarkable improvement, the district credits their AI pilot heavily. Early evidence from staff surveys also showed that using AI resulted in an average savings of four hours per week per staff member. But the full story goes beyond the data. 

Tools like ChatGPT are being personalized to meet individual student needs, especially for those with learning disabilities. Students are using AI to simplify complex texts, highlight key information, build vocabulary, and receive real-time feedback on their writing. They are taking responsibility and asking AI for explanations, not answers.  For example, students upload their completed work into ChatGPT and instantly receive suggestions for improvement, a task that would be nearly impossible for a single teacher to provide for each student in real-time.  

AI isn’t just improving academics - it’s also fostering human connection and inclusion in the classroom. At another Peninsula School District school, educator Karen Kennedy Floyd used HeyGen, an AI-powered avatar tool, to support a non-English-speaking student in becoming more engaged with classroom activities. HeyGen allowed students to create custom video avatars that mirror the student’s likeness and translate for them in real time. Now, she regularly produces her own short instructional videos that can be translated into multiple languages, helping ensure all students can access and understand the material, no matter their native language.  

With the success PSD experienced through their integration of AI, the district recognized an opportunity to lead by example and support others on a similar journey. “If we’re not out in front and deciding how AI is going to change education... somebody else is going to decide what AI is going to do in education without the educators' expertise in the conversation,” said James Cantonwine. To date, PSD has led over 40 workshops to share their insights and lessons learned, and they’ve launched a public website designed to help other districts navigate the path toward thoughtful AI implementation. Through this work, PSD is helping shape a future where AI is used thoughtfully and in a way that can enhance learning, support teachers, and better serve students.  

Peninsula School District was nominated for the 2025 SDP Award for Strategic Data Excellence.