My Publicist Note Book

The Education of Oprah: How She Saved Her South African School At the front entrance of Oprah   Winfrey’s school, flanked by blue gum trees and veld grass, the South African flag sits at half-mast. Four days earlier police opened fire on striking workers at a platinum mine two hours north, killing 34. At daily assembly in the campus’ plush auditorium, 296 girls in grass-green blazers and pleated skirts bow their heads, some muttering prayers. Grieving is a practiced skill for pupils of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG). The school’s student body collectively endures, on average, the death of one primary caregiver a week, and they formally mourn together every Monday. “This is the real South Africa,” says Anne van Zyl, the school’s fourth head of academy in five years. “They’ve seen AIDS. They’ve seen violence.” See exclusive photos of Winfrey’s South African school Inside Oprah's South African School ...