Oprah's self-celebrated Leadership Academy is only months old and already parents have aired concerns. This is the second report of parent's dissatisfaction. The first, a student was not allowed to leave to attend a family member's funeral. One can understand restricting comings and goings, but parents seem to have valid complaints.

News 24

Published: March 12, 2007 at 2:50 PM Email Story | Print Preview | License

Oprah's school rules concern parents
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 12 (UPI) -- Some of the rules at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa have parents wondering about the facility where their daughters live.

Parents said the rules make it difficult for them to keep in contact with their children at the school near Johannesburg, News24 said.


The parents were to voice their concerns during a satellite-linked conversation with Winfrey, but the school's governing body canceled it.


The rules restrict visits to once a month, no cell phones or e-mail correspondence during the week -- and only phone calls with parents on weekends -- and no more than four visitors a month.


One parent said she would take her daughter out of the school if the rules weren't changed. She said she had to wait about 30 minutes at the gate to register before being allowed to visit her daughter for two hours.


John Samuels, the executive of the school, said he sees nothing wrong.


"We have the security and well-being of the girls at heart, in every respect," he said. "If there's too much movement on the premises at the weekend, it disturbs the school spirit

When I watched the special on Oprah opening the school and interviewing the girls personally, as I listened to her statements of how her goal was to take the most underprivileged from the poorest families and give them an opportunity of a lifetime by accepting them into the school, I was rather shocked by the seeming contradiction in the standard where only those with the best grades would be accepted.
Is it not common knowledge that the poorest and most socioeconomically deprived children present the most difficulty in school due to reasons like malnutrition or hunger, abuse, fear, fatigue, lower quality of education etc?
If I were a kid whose parents were both dead or was being raised by my grandmother in utter poverty as I grieved for the loss of my parents and childhood, I would not be doing very well with grades either but I don't think it would make me less able to achieve if given support.
It just seemed really brutal to me that kids coming from such an impoverished background had to find it within themselves to persuade a billionaire that they were good enough to be accepted. It brought me to tears when I heard one girl ask Oprah, "am I good enough"?

I was also appalled at the Eurocentered academic standards placed on girls who are not European and had not been socialized by the European culture. Whatever tests they had to undergo to assess their academic abilities were not designed with African culture or social knowledge in mind(different ways of learning and teaching), of that I'm sure.
Anyway, I had mixed feelings all the way through that show. On one hand, she was going to provide the opportunity of a lifetime, and she did, for that she is to be commended, but what a message to send to the girls who did not make it. Good for the girls that were accepted but how grieved the others must be. For those rejected, it must mean a confirmation of self-worthlessness and being inadequate intellectually.

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"We have the security and well-being of the girls at heart, in every respect," he said. "If there's too much movement on the premises at the weekend, it disturbs the school spirit

one word for this excuse, 'lame'. Doesn't the school spirit include the interests of the whole child, like their emotions for instance...wouldn't a child away from home, still NEED contact and nurture from their caregivers, or extended family? Let's hope this school doesn't become the luxury version of what used to be orphanages and schools back in the day...

I was struck by how articulate, healthy and beautiful these "poor" girls were, and how savvy they were regarding pop stars

With the schools visiting rules, if a child has a large family - more than 4 siblings, perhaps - does that mean they would have to wait another month to see them?

Oprah has the means to do great things, and this could be one of them if she indeed schools poor kids who might not have the opportunity, but it looks dangerously like a live-in LGAT.

Anyone can see that this is going to blow-up at any minute. Oprah has dug herself into a massive pit. On an egotistical bender, she has signed up for The Secret guff and has manifested herself a schoolful of her "new daughters" (she has used that very megalomaniacal term) and now, when the problems start happening -- because they do, in schools, generally, let alone with a media scrum of scandal-hungry journos in permanent position outside of the gates -- she is going to have to wonder herself and answer some awkward questions about manifesting herself a hotpot of unrest.

Oprah and her ethereal friends can paint this school is as angelic and glowing terms as they like but I for one can see it is a travesty. And it is a travesty that I didn't manifest.

Oprah should have kept her crazed possessive maternal instincts focused on the dogs. Unfortunates in Africa don't need this type of problem-riddled schooling.

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Oprah has the means to do great things, and this could be one of them if she indeed schools poor kids who might not have the opportunity, but it looks dangerously like a live-in LGAT.

it's a perfect breeding ground for it. I can't imagine any of the girls choosing anything else to believe in other than what seems to be 'right' and why would they dare?

Oprah looked pretty pissed off making her statement about the recent allegations made by parents. She asked them in the future to call her, instead of bringing their concerns to the media. Now I'm just speculating, but I just don't get the feeling that is what happened. Maybe they did contact the school and got no reply or were told to hush up. But again, it is speculation.

But doesn't this response by Oprah sound EXACTLY like what LGAT grads are told by their "coaches?" I know grads who've formed independent chat groups online have been told the same thing -- just come to us with your problems, don't talk amonst yourselves or online. It's just a way of hushing people up.

Exactly They're being uncoachable.

why do the girls hav live there? why cant there moms and dads visit or write?

mother theres opend schools for indian kids an she let them see there parents. she didnt even care theyre hindu even thou shes a catolic nun. she just wnated them to hav good shools.