June 7, 2021
The Taylor Schlitz family sought alternative forms of education for their children after an incident their eldest daughter, Haley, experienced at the public elementary school in Southlake.
A family’s educational path changed dramatically after the eldest daughter, Haley, was forced to take on the role of a mulatto slave girl during her fifth-grade, in-class activity on the Civil War.
“I was the only girl of color in the entire class,” Haley recalled. “I’ve been told before, ‘If we were back in those times, I would own you.’ That’s what a white kid said to me,” she added.
The teacher moved her to the role of an abolitionist after her dad complained to the school, but “the damage was done,” Haley, now 18, said.
“I lost my mind,” William Schlitz, Haley’s father, said. “I went down there, and threw a fit. I wasn’t going to let my children’s mental health and well-being be destroyed by an education system that saw them as problems instead of future problem-solvers.”
“I ended up stopping public school after that year,” Haley said.
District officials said they were not aware of the incident but added they do not tolerate “behavior that would make anyone feel like they do not belong in Keller ISD because of their race or ethnicity,” Keller ISD said in an emailed statement.
The incident pushed the Taylor Schlitz family down a path toward accelerated academic success for all three of their children. They remain supporters of public education, but they encourage more families to consider the homeschool hybrid system they used.
The report cards for the three Taylor Schlitz children is head-turning by any measure:
Haley, 18, is a third-year law student. She graduated from Texas Woman’s University at 16, with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Ian, 15, is set to graduate from the University of North Texas with a degree in integrative studies. He applied to Tarrant County College at 12.
Hana, 13, is a second-year college student and will transfer to Texas Woman’s University in the fall, where she will study sociology.
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