Australian school with strong link to Scientology receives government money but not all is spent on students

The Age - Australia March 24, 2011

School denies Scientology deal

byJewel Topsfield


A MELBOURNE school linked to the Church of Scientology spends among the lowest per student in Australia despite receiving thousands of dollars in government funding.

Yarralinda School in Mooroolbark has also come under fire for obscuring its affiliation with Scientology, in a flyer that spruiks the school as a ''no homework school''.

My School website reveals Yarralinda School spent $3727 per student in 2009, despite receiving $6171 per student in combined government funding and $4609 per student in fees.

Victoria's independent schools spend an average of $15,201 per student, while government schools spend an average $10,178 per student.

However, most of Yarralinda's income - $7765 per student - was allocated to paying off debts, according to My School.

A former board member at Yarralinda, Paul Schofield, who resigned in 2009, alleged the school's debt repayments were so high because the school had taken out a mortgage to lend money to the Church of Scientology for its headquarters in Ascot Vale.

''I was livid the school had been left with this debt in order to fund the Scientology building,'' he said.

The Australian Education Union called on the federal government to investigate the use of government funding.

''The government is providing recurrent funding for very specific purposes, and it appears this funding is not being used for the purpose of education,'' president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

Yarralinda principal Christel Duffy refused to comment on why the school's spending per student was so low.

''Any debt the school has is directly in relation to the school and there is no debt in relation to the Church of Scientology,'' she said.

Ms Duffy said the school used Applied Scholastics teaching materials based on the works of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986. Its patron is Scientologist Kate Ceberano.

''We do not teach any religion at Yarralinda School nor do we attempt to ask any children or their parents to join or study any religion,'' Ms Duffy said.

She said the school's promotional flyer included a logo indicating it is part of the Applied Scholastics network.

Mr Schofield said Applied Scholastics was a ''Scientology front group''.

''The name of Ron Hubbard and Scientology is absolute poison [so it is] policy to say the school has nothing to do with Scientology, which is absolute crap.''

In its promotional flyer, titled ''Local kids love no-homework school!'', Yarralinda promotes its ''official no homework policy'', its ''traditional phonics-based teaching methods'' and its ''highly personalised learning programs''.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon, who has pushed for Scientology's tax-free status to be scrapped, condemned the lack of disclosure on the flyer, questioning what the Church of Scientology has to hide from parents.

''Will federal funds in effect be used to recruit new members to the Church of Scientology, which has got a shocking record of harming individuals who get caught up in its web?'' the senator asked.

A spokesman for Schools Minister Peter Garrett said: "A full briefing on these matters has been requested from the department.''

This article was found at:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/school-denies-scientology-deal-20110323-1c6sf.html

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Some parents are upset with a study method introduced by a Montessori school in northwest Toronto, which they say has its roots in the Church of Scientology.

Parents said the owner of the Bambolino Montessori Academy, a private school, told parents last week that it was introducing a new learning method called applied scholastics.

Janice Blundon said parents like her weren't given a choice when the dean at her son's school told them they'd be implementing the study technique.

"I let him know I wasn't familiar with that, and [asked] who was teaching that, and what was it based on. He said it was based on L. Ron Hubbard," she said.

When Blundon found out Hubbard was the founder of the Church of Scientology, she pulled her son out of the school.

"If the sign says Montessori, parents [are] expecting Montessori, then they should be provided a Montessori education. And if they're not, that's fine, but they should be made aware of the situation," said Blundon.

"We have nothing to hide," said Julia Simon, the owner and principal of Bambolino. "Come in openly, anytime in the classroom, observe, grab a chair, sit down, watch the method."

Applied scholastics is also known as study technology. According to the theory, when students don't understand a concept, it's because they've misunderstood a particular word in a sentence. They're told to look at pictures or definitions in a dictionary, until the concept becomes clear.

Critics say it suppresses freedom of thought, a charge the head of Applied Scholastics Canada calls ridiculous.

"The whole point of children understanding is so that they can think for themselves," said Liz Zahari, the director of the organization.

The school also follows a curriculum supplied by the province's Ministry of Education.

Both Simon and the new dean are Scientologists, but say the school doesn't teach Scientology and that applied scholastics is secular.

Of her 120 students, she said, only seven in the senior grades will be using applied scholastics, as the rest are all too young.

"If I plan to implement [applied scholastics] in lower elementary, I would talk to parents one on one and get their consent," said Simon.

This article was found at:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/18/bambolino-school.html