U.S. performer Will Smith, right, and his wife Jada Pinket Smith, left, open the 46664 charity concert in honour of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday in London, Friday, June 27, 2008, The former South African president's 90th birthday falls on July 18. (AP Photo/Edmond Terakopian)
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, and 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, Muslim, Christian or Jewish.
In addition to reading and math, the school offers classes on yoga, robotics and etiquette.
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