All schools have the capacity to become great schools. All they need is the focus and leadership to create the proper conditions for the board, school leadership team, staff, and constituents to do so. In this article, the author presents 25 elements that are central to great independent schools. These include: Create and perpetuate an intentional culture; eclectically capitalize on the best ideas about what works in schools; adopt a big vision, one that continually refreshes itself in order to sustain the enterprise along the five most strategic continua: demographic, environmental, global, financial, and programmatic; adopt and fund "3 Rs" talent strategies that position the school to recruit, retain, and reward the best and brightest teachers, school leaders, and board members; and manifest a coherent philosophy of learning for students.