Will Smith and Jada Open Scientology School

Jada Pinkett Smith is talking about the private elementary school she and her husband opened last fall:

The 37-year-old actress-producer-musician and her husband, Will Smith, opened the New Village Leadership Academy last fall. The private school, for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, has 60 students, according to the Web site.

Pinkett Smith hopes to open a companion campus for upper grades.

"My plan is to eventually have a high school," Pinkett Smith said. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm just trying to make it through this year."

Pinkett Smith, who is set to star in and executive produce a new series on TNT, said she decided to open the elementary school after creating a home-school program for her children, 10-year-old Jaden and 8-year-old Willow.

"More and more parents were like, 'Can we come?'" she said. "Then my house started to fill up. We had like 20 kids and I said, 'We might as well start a school.'" Source

Pinkett Smith acknowledges that having a Scientology-based curriculum begs a lot of questions from parents concerned that their children would be receiving a religious education not a secular one:

The New Village Leadership Academy generated some controversy when it was first announced because it relies on instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The school's director has said it isn't a Scientology facility.

Hubbard's "study technology" is a secular course akin to a Montessori approach, the Web site says.

Pinkett Smith said the school stresses "100 percent mastery," encouraging students to retake exams until they score 100 percent. The student body is ethnically and economically diverse, she said, "which is a very difficult thing to find in Los Angeles, Calif."

She called the school project "serious business."

"It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done," she said, "but it is really rewarding." Source

As someone who is working with colleagues to establish a public college-preparatory boarding school serving foster and other disadvantaged kids, I applaud this effort. Any school that equips kids with the skills needed to think, analyze and problem solve in creative and confident ways should be praised. I hope the New Village Leadership Academy does well.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Will Smith leapt into the hearts of millions as the star of TV's 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' in 1990. We would have to wait until the end of this successful show for this young rapper to shed the hip hop style that made him famous.

Neal Preston, Corbis

This was Jada in 1991. Pinkett Smith began her acting career that year when she was cast as a college freshman on 'A Different World.' Fresh-faced and rough around the edges, it would be six more years before she would marry Will. Then her star would really begin to shine.

Robert Eric, Sygma / Corbis

The couple met when Jada auditioned for a part on Will's show. The rest would become Hollywood history. Here, in 1994, Jada takes a quirky pose in a metallic shift, sans shoes. This relative newcomer to stardom would need a few more years to polish her appearance to meet Hollywood's standards.

Neal Preston, Corbis

During the run of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' from 1990-1996, Will stuck with his happy hip hop style. As a member of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Smith won a Grammy Award in 1989 for the hit song, 'Parents Just Don't Understand.' For a long time, Will stuck with the look got him into the limelight.

Warner Bros.

Will and Jada married in 1997. You can see the '90s style clearly outlined in Will's suit, which could be placed in a time capsule epitomizing black men's fashion for the era. Jada on the other hand looks like what she was a gorgeous girl from Baltimore who was just beginning to make it big.

Jim Smeal, WireImage

Jada, Will and Will's son from a previous relationship, Willard Christopher Smith, III (a.k.a. Trey), made up their happy family for a while. I am feeling the family love here, but not the matching army outfits. Maybe this was for a kids' outing? A military children's affair? Who knows. It ain't working.

Steve Granitz, WireImage

Will's wackiness began to wear off on Jada very quickly after they tied the knot. I am not sure if they meant to dress up like dancers from Janet Jackson's video for 'Rhythm Nation,' but that is the effect. It was the '90s. This passed for high style then.

David Keeler, Getty Images

1997, Pinkett Smith attended the L.A. premiere of 'Scream 2' wearing a ridiculous combination of clothes that makes me want to holla.

Trapper Frank, Sygma / Corbis

Jada can't seem to let metallics go, as she flashes that chin and her baby bump at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in 1998. Will won the award for Favorite Science Fiction Actor that year for the third year in a row. You'd think he would wear a suit, being so honored. At least they are doing their careers right! Because they have got their clothing all wrong.

Paul Smith, Retna

Taking the theme of the film to an absurd degree, Jada attended the premiere of her husband's film 'Wild Wild West' in 1999 dressed as the world's first Native American cowgirl stripper or so one can only suppose. Her body looks tight though. Can Jada get it together and find clothes befitting a beautiful frame.

Paul Smith, Featureflash / Retna