Will Smith's School NOT Scientologist

Will Smith's soon-to-open private school is not a Scientology facility as some reports have suggested, the academy's director said.
The pair are close friends with Tom Cruise, Scientology's biggest booster, and his wife Katie Holmes. Earlier this year he said "you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise."Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have founded the New Village Academy, scheduled to open in September.
The school will use instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called study technology. And a few teachers belong to the church.
But the couple say they are not Scientologists.
In a statement, Will Smith said of the school: "About 10 years ago, Jada and I started dreaming about the possibility of creating an ideal educational environment, where children could feel happy, positive and excited about learning.
"New Village Academy was born of a simple question, Is it possible to create an educational environment in which children have fun learning?' Jada and I believe the answer is 'Yes.'"
The academy's director insists the facility has no religious affiliation.
"We are a secular school, and just like all nonreligious independent schools, faculty and staff do not promote their own religions at school or pass on the beliefs of their particular faith to children," New Village Academy director Jacqueline Olivier told the Los Angeles Times.
Oliver said some of the school's staffers are Scientologists, Christian or Jewish,Muslim.
According to the Los Angeles Times, study technology "focuses on students gaining hands-on experience, mastering subject matter before moving to the next level, and being taught not to read past words they don't understand."In addition to reading and math, the school offers classes on yoga, robotics and etiquette.