Indian Hills High School previously used the campus, and in 2008 actor Will Smith funded New Village Academy and leased the Calabasas facilities for three years.

"[7] "New Village Academy was born of a simple question, 'Is it possible to create an educational environment in which children have fun learning?'

[8][9] A spokesperson for Will Smith told The Guardian: "Will is leasing the campus for three years, plus he'll cover all costs such as utilities.

[11][12] In March 2009 the Associated Press reported that Jada Pinkett-Smith planned to open a companion high-school.

[14] Educational methodologies used by the school included Montessori, Gardner, Jerome Bruner, and Study Technology.

[5] The school's website lists "Study Technology", a form of education developed by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard,[19] as one of its methodologies.

[5] The website utilizes Scientology terminology including "spiraling" and "gradient" in order to illustrate how students learn in the school's programs.

"[6] Touretzky maintains a website critical of Study Technology, and told the Los Angeles Times that the terms "Director of Qualifications" and the school's "Qual" department refer to those tested by a Church of Scientology qualifications teacher in a Scientology Auditing session.

[6] In early September 2008 members of the anti-Scientology group Project Chanology protested outside of New Village Academy and objected to their claims that L. Ron Hubbard techniques were being used in the school.

She is an excellent educator and fully embraced the school's secular and open-minded approach to innovative teaching methodologies.

"[30] The New York Post reported that Olivier left the school due to conflicts with the Smiths over the Scientology "Study Tech" teaching methodologies.