Case Study: West Aurora School District 129 achieves 99.9% reduction in phish-prone rate (27% to 0.03%) with KnowBe4

West Aurora School District 129 - Customer Case Study

West Aurora School District 129 is a K‑12 unit district in Illinois serving about 12,500 students and 1,500 staff across 15 schools, responsible for large volumes of student and staff PII and subject to FERPA. Facing limited IT resources, repeated DDoS attacks and rising phishing threats, the district turned to KnowBe4 and its Integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing Platform to strengthen end‑user defenses and reduce data‑exposure risk.

KnowBe4 ran a baseline simulated phishing test, then delivered short training modules and monthly simulated phishing campaigns using hundreds of customizable templates targeted to staff. Over five months the district’s phish‑prone rate fell from 27% to 0.03%, producing measurable risk reduction, stronger email‑vetting behavior and higher staff engagement with security training.

West Aurora School District 129

Don Ringlestein

CETL Director of Technology