Peninsula School District has been named a 2025 AWS Champions Award winner for its strategic and forward-thinking implementation of Amplify GenAI, an open-source generative AI platform hosted on Amazon Bedrock. By developing custom AI tools aligned to district needs, Peninsula has significantly increased operational efficiency, supported teacher innovation, and delivered a cost-effective, secure framework for responsible AI use across departments.

Project Overview
In response to growing interest in generative AI across the district, Peninsula School District adopted Amplify GenAI to centralize and standardize AI tool usage. The platform empowers staff to perform tasks like drafting emails, creating lesson plans, and automating administrative processes — all through custom-built AI chatbots and assistants.

One standout example is the district’s “Labor Manager,” a purpose-built AI assistant preloaded with collective bargaining agreements. It ensures contract-compliant communications during sensitive situations such as weather-related closures. By leveraging AWS services through Bedrock, the district created a secure, scalable environment for developing tools that address real-world education and operations challenges.

Challenges Addressed: Escalating Costs and Fragmented AI Adoption
Before implementing Amplify GenAI, Peninsula faced:

• Decentralized AI tool use, with staff subscribing individually to various services 
• Rapidly rising costs without centralized oversight or cost control 
• Inconsistent usage patterns and lack of standardization 
• Limited scalability and security in existing solutions 

District leadership recognized the need for a unified platform that could improve efficiency while delivering consistent value, cost predictability, and strong governance.

Results: Improved Instructional Delivery and Operational Efficiency
The transition to a centralized, AWS-hosted AI platform has delivered measurable impact:

• Increased AI literacy among staff and students, fostering more confident and effective use 
• Improved instructional delivery, with anecdotal evidence of student performance gains when educators leverage AI to enhance lesson planning and learning tools 
• Time savings and productivity gains in departments such as HR, communications, and instructional support 
• Secure and controlled AI adoption, ensuring compliance and responsible usage district-wide 

These advancements have allowed the district to scale AI adoption responsibly while supporting educational outcomes and operational excellence.

“AWS Services, in particular Bedrock, has opened up amazing possibilities for us to forward our AI goals and initiatives throughout the Peninsula School District. We are able to offer personalized tools for staff powered with some of the latest frontier models. Whether we are improving instruction or optimizing operations, these tools are allowing us never- before-seen opportunities to truly move education forward." — Kris Hagel, CIO, Peninsula School District

A Scalable Model for Responsible AI in K–12 Education
Peninsula School District’s Amplify GenAI initiative serves as a blueprint for how K–12 organizations can leverage generative AI to support teachers, streamline workflows, and manage resources responsibly. Their use of AWS technologies has created a secure, scalable foundation for custom AI tools that meet real-world needs without compromising compliance or cost control.