In 2000 the district had 3,385 students. During that year, over 60% were racial and ethnic minorities. Many of those students are first time English learners.
 
For Port Chester Middle School, the road to excellence has been long and hard. A March 2007 profile of the school noted that former principal Carmen Macchia spent the first six years of his tenure (1993-1999) making it safe and clean. Then his staff honed in on improving instruction. In 1999, only one-third of Port Chester Middle School students demonstrated at least basic competency in English and math. To ensure that all students reached their potential, Macchia and his staff hired an educational consultant, emphasized teacher training and stepped up literacy instruction across subjects. Those efforts paid off: In 2005, two-thirds of the school’s students met the state standards for English language arts. Two years later, the school continued to make gains. At the time of that March 2007 profile, the school had the county’s highest level of non-native English speakers. Still, it was the only school in the county to earn mentions on New York state’s most improved lists in both English and math.