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.

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.

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.

Provided with a Federal grant of $3,925,000 (equivalent to $37.9  million in 2023) — the largest ever awarded to that date — and research from a Citizens' Study Committee, the county chose a 59-acre (240,000 m2) tract of land which it owned in Wayne, previously the site of Camp Hope.

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.

[8] 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.

[13] The football team won the 1998 North I Section IV title game, defeating Union Hill High School 48-6 in the tournament final at Giants Stadium.

[14] The 2001 team finished the season with a record of 11-1 after winning the North I Group IV state sectional title by a score of 40-8 against Emerson High School of Union City in the championship game.

[15] The team won the North I Group V title in 2015, the program's third state championship, defeating Ridgewood High School in the tournament final by a score of 27-0 at MetLife Stadium.