Opportunity Thrive

27/05/2026

Are you a Michigan principal, superintendent, or district leader watching great teachers walk out the door?

You're not alone — and it's not your fault. But there IS something you can do about it. ✨

Opportunity Thrive is a Michigan nonprofit dedicated to supporting educators from the inside out — so they can be the emotionally regulated, creative, and flexible teachers our kids deserve. We offer confidential coaching (one-on-one AND group formats), professional development, and a flexible online platform that works around educators' real schedules.

When teachers feel supported, they stay. It's that simple.

We're hosting FREE 20-minute informational sessions this June, just for educational leaders. Come learn how we can help your school or district build a culture where great educators want to stay.

📅 June 1 · 4 · 8 · 10 · 17 | 12:00–12:20 pm
💻 Virtual via Zoom
🔗 Link to register in bio or comments!

Tag a school leader who needs to hear this. ⤵️

Send a message to learn more

19/05/2026

We'd love to share with you how we can support your staff, educators, team. Join us for an information session. Share with educators you know who might be interested.

https://forms.gle/31iZfGUVKaTz3e4C9

15/05/2026

Our mission is to put passionate, qualified, holistically healthy educators in front of every child.

We have a lot of work ahead.

Schedule a call today about how we can help your educators build their health and reclaim their passion and make your school or district a place where your educators want to work: [email protected].

Or, join us in this mission by becoming a financial partner.
Every dollar goes to helping an educator stay in the profession.
Reach out to learn more.

12/03/2026

Adult relationships in our schools matter. Let’s invest in trust and collaboration.

25/12/2025

In this holiday season, we are thankful for the teachers and schools who serve our students and families with compassion and dedication. May you find time to enjoy meaningful relationships and to rest your mind, body, and soul this break. May you thrive!

13/11/2025

I've been hearing a lot of bashing of the idea of resilience for educators lately, and I get it. I really do. I understand that it feels unfair to ask educators to focus on their resilience when the system is failing–too high of a workload, too many roles, too many bad behaviors, too many toxic leaders. It's all too much, right?

But, what if it isn't an "either/or" but an "and?"

What if we can grow our resilience AND improve the system?

Here's a few truths that I believe:

#1: Every human needs resilience. Challenges will come your way, and you will want the capacity to not just survive but continue to grow in spite of or because of the challenge. Believing in your need for resilience is not the same as owning all of the dysfunction; it's claiming your power over the things you actually control–your own thoughts, words, and actions.

#2: Systems, organizational (not technical), are humans, relationally structured together to achieve a goal or mission. Sometimes, I think we forget this. We blame "the system" but forget that the policies, practices, and structures were designed and created by humans, which means they can be recreated by humans too. When we blame the amorphous system, we are, in a sense, throwing up our hands and saying, "Well, there's nothing we can do. It's the system." Instead, what might happen if we recognize we are the system, we own the mess, and we collectively fix the mess?

#3: Human to human relationships will always be more important in the success of our schools than curriculum, policies, or data assessments. Research has show over and over again that relational trust between teachers, administrators, and the community is the key to successful schools. Bryk and Schneider found this in their study in Chicago Public Schools as published in Trust in Schools. Dr. Roland S. Barth recognized this in his publication Improving Schools from Within. The other components are also important, but relationships are (to use an old analogy) the horse that drives the cart.

#4: Hope is powerful but so is pessimism. It’s just about what road you want to traverse because the destinations are vastly different.

13/10/2025

Michigan's FY 2026 School Aid Budget provides important funding for districts to use for recruitment and retention of educators. At the low end, the estimates are that Opportunity Index 4, 5, or 6 school districts will receive an extra 11.5% per economically disadvantaged student in 31a funds. Of this funding, 30% can be used to support retention and recruitment efforts. This means that these districts will have between $500,000-$4million to spend on these efforts.

The budget identifies two key guardrails:
#1) Districts have to identify that they are going to use the funds for these purposes by November 1.
#2) At the end of the year, the districts have report to parents and guardians how much funding they received and how they are going to use the funds.

At Opportunity Thrive, we believe that retention efforts must focus on creating healthy adult cultures within our schools and supporting educators as they navigate the complex dynamics of working in a school environment.

If you are an educator or a school leader, connect with us to learn how we can support you in accessing and utilizing these new funds effectively. Together, we can create schools where educators want to work and where they can be effective in their efforts.

14/08/2025

If this resonates with you, please contact your Michigan representative:

🔗 https://buff.ly/3zyPm96

06/08/2025

When the Executive Director and Board Chair join forces to learn together, you know magic is going to happen! Thank you for the great learning opportunity this morning!

05/08/2025

Check out the latest Substack post from Rebekah Schipper, the Executive Director for Opportunity Thrive. 👀

🗨️ " If an educator experiences a true sense of satisfaction in their work, and is engaged in their job, they will make the successful shift for another school year. If they are dreading going back, finding that their mind only lands on misery when thinking about the work, then the shift will be both unsuccessful and consequential." 🍎

Opportunity Thrive is helping to build a successful 💪 transition to engagement once more.

To read more, follow the link 🔗
https://buff.ly/VWw4rFK