EXCLUSIVE: First Interview with the Principal of Will & Jada Smith’s Shuttered Scientology School « The Underground Bunker

In 2007, Jacqueline Olivier was hired by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to turn their home-schooling experiment into an actual bricks-and-mortar institution. A year later, the New Village Leadership Academy opened its doors as protesters showed up to picket the school — by then, it was known that the Smiths had asked Olivier to use L. Ron Hubbard’s “Study Technology” as the school’s guiding curriculum. (Study Technology is also a significant part of coursework in the Church of Scientology, which Hubbard founded.)

But Olivier assured the public that the private school in Calabasas, California was strictly secular, and she played down the influence of Study Tech. Then, a year later, she was fired and replaced by a woman named Franca Campopiano, also known as Piano Foster. At the time, news reports suggested that Olivier had not embraced the use of Hubbard’s ideas strongly enough, which is why Campopiano, a Smith family friend, was brought in to replace her.

Now, for the first time, Olivier is talking about her two years working with the Smiths. She’s no longer playing down the influence of Study Technology. In fact, she tells the Underground Bunker that Scientology’s influence in the school was near total, and she knew that calling it secular was a sham. Her departure, she says, was definitely about her not being “with the program.”

EXCLUSIVE: First Interview with the Principal of Will & Jada Smith’s Shuttered Scientology School « The Underground Bunker

Will Smith’s privately-funded school crumbles under revelations of Scientology connections

When Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith opened their privately-funded school in Calabasas California back in 2008, it received quite a bit of media attention. The school soon became the subject of controversy when parents complained that they were misled about some of the curriculum that was being implemented — namely a teaching technique called “Study Technology” — a method that was devised by none other than L. Ron Hubbard.

But amazingly, the next chapter in the school’s troubled history managed stay relatively below the radar of the press. On June 28 of this year, New Village Leadership Academy was quietly shut down, apparently closing its doors for good.

No official reason has been given for the school’s closure (of which both the Smith children attended) and the famous Hollywood couple hasn’t spoken a word about it to this day. But sources say that the school began to run into funding problems after parents got wind of its Scientology groundwork, leaving Will and Jada to pump in $2 million a year of their own money just to keep the facilities afloat.

Will Smith’s privately-funded school crumbles under revelations of Scientology connections

Will Smith’s Scientology-Based School Closes Due To Outraged Parents

Hmm,,,

According to the August 5 edition of Star Magazine, parents of students did not know about the institution’s religious slant and curriculum. The leaders allegedly didn’t mind taking their money, giving a half-truth explanation of their institution for the last two years. This caused outrage among the parents of students when they found out about the Scientology connections.

As of June 28, it has been reported that Will Smith’s Scientology school school was shut down due to its shady business practices. News about this has remained mostly silent since it is reported that Scientology adherents keep their practices and failures silent.

Will Smith’s Scientology-Based School Closes Due To Outraged Parents