Passaic County Technical Institute (also known as PCTI, Passaic County Tech, Wayne Tech or simply Tech), is a vocational public high school in Wayne, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from all of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located near the city of Paterson. PCTI offers some vocational classes in addition to several college credit courses. It is the sister school of the Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, with which it shares a campus and extracurricular programs.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 3,660 students and 302.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. There were 1,483 students (40.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 328 (9.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Passaic County Technical Institute, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024. Based on 2021-22 data from the New Jersey Department of Education, PCTI was the largest high school in the state, one of 29 schools with more than 2,000 students.Kausch, Katie. "N.J.’s biggest high school has 3,350 students. See how your school compares.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 31, 2023. Accessed August 31, 2023. "With 3,350 students, Passaic County Technical Institute has an enrollment that rivals some of the state’s colleges and ranks as the largest high school in New Jersey. Another 28 New Jersey schools have at least 2,000 students, according to 2021-2022 enrollment data released by the state Department of Education."
Awards, recognition, and rankings Schooldigger.com ranked the school 212th out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings (an increase of 21 positions from the 2009 rank), which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2009-2010, Schooldigger.com. Accessed January 14, 2012.
History In 1917, a group of businessmen in Paterson helped form Paterson Vocational School to train young men to enter the textile industry. The school accepted boys who were at least 14 years of age or in the sixth grade, and trained them for two years or until they were ready to assume a job in a factory or trade. From 1917 to the early 1940s, Paterson Vocational School continued to operate as a two-year school, gradually expanding its curriculum to include a wider variety of trades. During World War II, the school remained open around the clock providing men and women with the training to become machinists and draftsmen to design and construct the engines used in bombers, fighters and transport aircraft flown in the Pacific and European theaters. For its service, the school was honored by the War Department.
Aware of the part technology would play in the booming postwar economy, Paterson Vocational School applied for and received approval from the New Jersey Department of Education to become a full-fledged high school in 1946. Academic subjects were added, as were new trades like Refrigeration, Industrial Electric, and Electronics. The school was renamed Paterson Technical and Vocational High School and quickly gained the name Paterson Tech. Agriculture was offered to shared-time students attending Central High School (now Kennedy High School), with Paterson Tech renting a farm close to PCTI's present Wayne site, where students learned to raise farm animals and grow crops.
By the 1960s, the importance of vocational and technical education was becoming obvious, and in 1964, Paterson Mayor Frank X. Graves Jr. turned over Paterson Tech to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders, thereby providing all youngsters in Passaic County access to Passaic County Technical and Vocational High School. With students flooding in from all over the county, Passaic County Tech, now reaching a student population of 500 young men and one girl, was significantly overcrowded. The school's two buildings — one dating from the Civil War located at the corner of Summer and Ellison, the other a refurbished factory on Market Street — could not meet the demands. By 1965, plans were well underway to build a new school that would accommodate students for generations to come.
Provided with a Federal grant of $3,925,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) — the largest ever awarded to that date — and research from a Citizens' Study Committee, the county chose a tract of land which it owned in Wayne, previously the site of Camp Hope.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in November 1966, and construction began 15 months later. On September 8, 1970, Passaic County Technical and Vocational High School — at the time, the largest technical/vocational high school in the state and third largest in the nation — opened its doors to close to 1,500 young men and women. In the 25 years since, PCTI has added two wings and an additional Special Needs building, a variety of academic courses and special programs, and has kept abreast of technological advances and economic trends by constantly updating vocational, occupational, and technical courses. Passaic County Tech has since been renamed Passaic County Technical Institute.
With construction completed, a new library (F-Wing Library), a separate gymnasium (the Athletic Center, which consists of an indoor pool, a basketball court, an indoor track, a spin room used by the physical education department, and a top-notch athletic training room), and an extension to the school's F-Wing (now the FX Wing) were added to PCTI. Also, part of the H-Wing was remodeled, the first and second floors, to comply with the new H-Wing bridge that connects to the lower end of the FX-Wing, which added a new BlackBox Theater. Several trailer-type classrooms have been installed behind the F and FX wing. A new STEM building has been constructed alongside PCTI's campus.
Shops / majors PCTI consists of 14 schools (as shown on the school's student application): Academy of Finance Academy of Information Technology Information Technology and Network Security (formerly computer repair) Computer Science Academy of Health and Medical Science School of Business Logistics Marketing Management School of Applied Technology Drafting (Computer-aided design / CAD) Electronics Manufacturing Technology School of Automotive Technology School of Communication Arts Advertising Art & Design Graphic Design & 3D Animation Audio Visual Production
School of Construction Technology School of Cosmetology School of Culinary Arts School of Education/Human Services/Child Development School of Engineering School of Performing Arts
Dance Theater Instrumental Vocal Academy of Criminal Justice and Public Safety Biotechnology STEM Academy Computer Science Engineering Biomedical
Extracurricular activities The Passaic County Technical Institute BulldogsPassaic County Technical Institute, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed April 8, 2016. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. For the 2009-10 school year, PCTI was part of the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, a conference established on an interim basis to facilitate the realignment.League Memberships - 2009-1010, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 24, 2011. Accessed September 20, 2014. Prior to the realignment that took place in 2009, the school participated in the Skyline Division of the Northern Hills Conference, which included schools in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.Home Page, Northern Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 28, 2011. Accessed November 26, 2014. With 2,633 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Liberty Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,317 to 5,409 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
School colors are blue and white. Sports offered at the school include tennis (men and women), soccer (men and women), cross country (men and women), bowling (men and women), cheerleading (men and women), volleyball (men and women), track and field winter (men and women), football (men), swimming (men and women), track and field spring (men and women), lacrosse (men and women), golf (men and women), softball (women), wrestling (men), basketball (men and women) and baseball (men).
The boys' wrestling team won the North I Group IV sectional title in 1994 and won the North I Group V state sectional championship in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2025.Boys Wrestling Championship History: 1934–2025, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated February 2026. Accessed March 1, 2026.