Tinton Falls School District Improves Phishing Awareness with Tartan

About Tinton Falls School District

Tinton Falls School District serves a diverse community in New Jersey and is made up of two elementary schools and one middle school. The district supports approximately 1,400 students and 250 staff members across its schools.

TJ Casper, Assistant Network Administrator, supports day-to-day technology operations and manages networking-related initiatives across the district. Based at Mahala F. Atchison School, TJ plays a hands-on role in keeping systems secure, reliable, and running smoothly.

Challenge: Persistent Clicking Despite Annual Training

Prior to working with Tartan, Tinton Falls School District included cybersecurity awareness as part of its annual staff training. However, despite those efforts, phishing remained a real concern.

"Although we have cybersecurity awareness as part of our yearly training, we still had users clicking on emails."

In addition, the district was experiencing a growing volume of spam and suspicious emails, increasing the risk of a serious incident.

"We were getting a ton of spam emails. I stayed alert and tried to be as ready as possible in case something escalated."

Solution: Hands-On, Ongoing Phishing Awareness

Tartan gave the district a practical way to move beyond one-time training and into continuous, real-world awareness. Through ongoing phishing simulations and clear reporting, the IT team could see exactly who was clicking, how often, and how staff behavior changed over time.

"Tartan has definitely helped us see who is clicking and how often. We're also getting more emails now from staff asking, 'Hey, is this spam?' than we did before."

Tartan's rollout was straightforward, and the team appreciated the collaborative approach throughout the process.

"Working with Tartan has been great from the beginning stages through implementation. I've suggested ideas, and they've been very open to adding them."

Results: Increased Reporting and Awareness

Since implementing Tartan, Tinton Falls School District has seen a noticeable shift in staff behavior:

• More Proactive Reporting: Staff now actively report suspicious emails instead of ignoring them.
• Greater Awareness: Employees have a better understanding of what phishing emails look like.
• Ongoing Engagement: Regular phishing simulations on a 15-day cycle reinforce learning without slowing momentum.

"We now have more people telling us about questionable emails they receive. That awareness is huge."

Why Tartan Works for Tinton Falls

For Tinton Falls School District, Tartan stands out for both its product and its people:

• Realistic phishing simulations that give staff hands-on experience
• Wide variety of phishing scenarios that make users stop and think
• Responsive, reliable support throughout the relationship

Advice for Other School Districts

"Training is half the battle, but hands-on experience is what really makes the difference. Users need to see what a phishing email actually looks like. Tartan gives you that without having to build everything yourself. I'd demo it with a small group and see what happens." - TJ Casper, Assistant Network Administrator

Final Thoughts

"I am very satisfied with my overall experience from day one. We have to protect our students' data and our staff's data. Clicking a random email at home or at work can end badly, being informed and aware is crucial."