Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will opened a K-6 elementary school last fall in California called the New Village Leadership Academy. The two homeschool their own children and felt they had the money and knowledge to open their own school. The Smiths have close ties with the Cruises, and Will has donated money to the Church of Scientology. Smith’s school uses some of the teaching methods of Scientology, although Will Smith denies that it is primarily a Scientology school.
Jada now plans to start a high school, one that presumably follows many of the teaching methods of the elementary school, including Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s unproven “study tech”:
Jada Pinkett Smith is adding another title to her resume: schoolmaster. The actress-producer and her husband, Will Smith, opened the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas, Calif., last fall. The school is for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
Now Pinkett Smith hopes to open a companion high school.
Pinkett Smith says she decided to open the elementary school after developing a home-school program for her children.
The school generated some controversy because it relies on instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. But the school’s director has said it isn’t a Scientology facility.
[from Star Pulse]
The school’s website says that it has a no-sugar policy; serves organic, fat-free lunches; teaches children at their individual level, not their grade; and has an emphasis on hands-on learning. One wonders how much of the policies they’ll translate into the high school – it will be hard to convince 16-year-olds not to smuggle in candy and chips. But hopefully the individualized teaching and hands-on aspects won’t be put aside. It’s easy for kids to just fall through the cracks, especially in high school. It’s a little surprising, however, that they don’t have plans for a middle school. It seems like that would be the logical next step.
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are shown at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on 2/22/09. Credit: WENN.com
Wow, that’s great! I’m working on a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice/Business Admin, but you know what? I think I’ll open a space station. Yeah.
Scientology High Brainwashing Academy. No thanks.
Solitary Angel – my thoughts exactly? How is a high school graduate “qualified” to open a high school? All these Hollyweird idiots suffer from delusions of grandeur.
@ nanster: I don’t know HER qualifications (especially since she homeschools her kids?!), but mine are:
1. I had a telescope when I was a kid
2. I can identify the moon
Sounds like the high school I went to.
Nanster, she’ll just hire people to figure out those pesky details and build it, you know just like putting in a swimming pool, and then she’ll just stick her name on it and take all the credit.
You’re exactly right, Balohicious.
Just another Scientology front. Great. Just what we need.
I’m so over this rampant arrogance.
“I’m so much smarter than everyone that no one but me could build a suitable learning program, doctorates in teaching are just pieces of paper, I have a high school diploma, I’M an A list actor!!! I’ve played a genius before, so I can play teacher too!”
Though I gotta admit, I’m reading the site and I’m loving the healthy food idea :X
get a clue;you don’t need a ‘credential’ to homeschool. In fact,if you read up on stats and research,homeschool kids do far better than most public educated,on every aspect. Ya’ll are just as brainwashed as scientologists….
the cult of public education.
Do you know it takes approx. 52 contact hours to learn the basics of reading,writing,math,for a child to then teach him/herself from there?
Not 12 freakin’ years of busywork to keep you occupied and trained for the workforce.
Have you heard of John Taylor Gatto’s stuff? Former NYC teacher of the year,30 yr veteran of Harlem schools. Underground history of american education is a virtually mind-blowing social history of public education the world over. Read it before you weigh in on other’s efforts to create a better option for children.
And by ‘you don’t need a credential’,I do not just mean by law. You literally do not need that information [ahem,brainwashing] in order to educate. You’re better off without it.
Wow,I cannot say how many public school teachers I come across who say they’ll homeschool if/when they have children. So new options are always a bonus,even if they are not perfect options. Choice is key.
They may just change the elementary to include 7th grade and the high school will be 8th grade and up or it could be 7-12. it’s not uncommon in private schools.
Wow, that’s great! I’m working on a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice/Business Admin, but you know what? I think I’ll open a space station. Yeah.
Thanks for the laugh.
Solitary Angel – my thoughts exactly? How is a high school graduate “qualified” to open a high school? All these Hollyweird idiots suffer from delusions of grandeur.
Thanks for the truth.
Irm, it really does help having someone teaching your kids that spent at least 4 years going to classes and taking exams and writing papers. A college education forces one to think. So please don’t discredit the people who spent all those years ‘showing up’ at universities. I don’t want uneducated people educating my children or even being in my life, for that matter.
sugar-free, low-fat breakfasts….i’m all for healthy foods, but that sounds a little too much like a “diet” to me. As posted:
” Few to no fried foods
High quality / organic fruits and vegetables
High quality snacks e.g. peanut butter and apples
Low-carb, low-sugar and low-sodium
High protein intake, using fresh meats. No canned meats served, except tuna
Pasta kept to a minimum
Brown rice served
No MSG”
it’s too absurd to be true, and yet it is true. it seems like a good and generous thing but projects like this have dangerous implications. even beloved brad pitt’s “make it right” foundation can have negative effects. in the sense that they let the public sector off the hook for the work they should be doing and the funds they should be raising for these civil projects.
It’s crazy how quickly everyone is shitting all over this.
That’s because we’re not clams, Allie.