| Troubled Paterson youth says home schooling was his saving grace |
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| Wednesday, 25 June 2008 | |
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By HEATHER HADDON Eliott Torres earned his high school diploma through an unusual arrangement: He was home schooled for two years by teachers from Paterson's school district. Critics say traditional settings are best for students and more cost-effective. (CARMINE GALASSO / Staff Photographer) In the past five years, the Paterson teen was removed from three schools and did a 35-day stint in juvenile detention. Torres had to learn self-defense, he says, because he is gay. He has spent years in the foster care system after his mother could not provide for him. Children at school and group homes teased him for being different. "I'm a troubled kid," said Torres, sitting outside the Independence House facility for teens in Paterson where he resides.               |
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