Oprah’s South African school taps the power of education

It’s a long way from South Africa to top American educational institutions, but that’s exactly where some graduates of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls are headed. The state-of-the-art South African high school—which media mogul Winfrey opened in 2007 for gifted girls from impoverished backgrounds—held its first graduation ceremony in January at Henley on Klip, south of Johannesburg, and Jeff Langenbach, Chief Administrative Officer, Apollo Group (University of Phoenix’s parent company), was on hand to hear their inspiring stories.

“The girls came from pretty horrible backgrounds and now they will be going to schools like Stanford University and Wellesley College, so it’s pretty cool,” Langenbach says. Not only are the graduates’ backgrounds marked by poverty, but also by families ravaged by AIDS and violence. Now, of the 72 grads—a 100 percent pass rate—six will be attending U.S. colleges in the fall, while the rest are currently pursuing higher education in South Africa. Their respective schools are providing bursaries and scholarships to help cover tuition costs, while the Oprah Winfrey Foundation covers their living expenses.

Prospective students for Oprah’s school are required to write a couple of rounds of entrance exams that gauge their academic and leadership potential, followed by “selection camps” that last two or three days. It is open to South African girls with a monthly family income of less than R8,000 or about US$1,033. Going forward, the girls will start their five-year program in eighth grade. (The academy initially offered a seventh-grade class as well.) “They take the best in that class, and it’s like getting into Harvard. It’s the most sought-after school in the country if you’re an eighth-grade girl,” Langenbach says.

Langenbach and Apollo Group’s Gregory Cappelli, Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Joe D’Amico, President and Chief Operating Officer, attended the graduation at the invitation of Oprah’s partner Stedman Graham.

The ceremony coincided with a business development trip as Apollo considers expansion into the African continent. “We were very impressed with the country and the continent and the opportunity that exists for us,” Langenbach says of him and his colleagues. “We were very moved and emotional about what these girls have been through and what they’ve accomplished. It reinforces in very stark terms the power of education to change your life.”

Mark Dillon is a freelance journalist and writer. He is the former editor of Playback magazine, the business publication of the Canadian film and TV industries.