Three different students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls attempted suicide in the past year, according to the National Enquirer’s review of local reports. In each case the attempts were thankfully unsuccessful, and details were kept private out of consideration for the girls and their families. One girl was recently expelled when her behavior and a suicide attempt made it apparent that she was mentally ill:

One student recently became suicidal after showing signs of mental illness and becoming disruptive in the classroom. This comes on the heels of two other suicide tries last year by girls at the school – one tried to kill herself by jumping off a building, and another cut her wrists.

None of the three girls died…

According to a local report, a 13 year-old girl began displaying signs of a mental breakdown shortly after her January enrollment. “She became disruptive in class and began cutting herself – she wanted to kill herself, ” a school insider told The Enquirer.

The academy administrators sent the girl to Tara Hospital, a respected Joahannesburg psychiatric clinic, where she later was diagnosed with epilepsy, the source said.

Shortly after the diagnosis, school administrators decided to expel the girl, who is now back with her family, according to the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, April 28, 2008]

There was a big abuse scandal at Oprah’s school last October when it came out that a female matron had been physically assaulting and sexually fondling girls. Oprah hired an investigative team and extra security and the woman has been fired, arrested and is facing an investigation. Oprah also suspended the CEO who initially ignored the problem, and gave all the girls a cell phone programmed with her phone number so that they could personally contact her. She was praised by the South African press for her swift action in putting a stop to the abuse and making an example of the abuser.

Many parents complained that although a free top notch education at Oprah’s posh school was an amazing opportunity for their daughters, it also was also an abrupt isolation from their families. Impoverished girls from age 11 to 12 with demonstrated academic success were chosen as the first students, and most had never been apart from their families in their lives. Their parents are only allowed to visit once a month for just two hours, and only four people can visit at a time. Girls are not allowed to call home during the week and must wait until the weekends. Girls with many brothers and sisters were suddenly completely cut off from their siblings and the extended family they grew up with.

So when I read that three girls at Oprah’s school had attempted suicide, my first thought was that good food, beauty treatments and yoga sessions can’t take the place of loving family relationships, but that may be too judgmental on my part. According to South African researchers, the suicide rate among school age children is as high as 7.8%, so maybe it’s inevitable that some girls are troubled. Oprah is trying to do a good thing, and she’s put her heart and money into it, but it seems she’s imposed her idea of a materialistic good life on girls who could have taught Oprah a thing or two about the importance of family.