The Breakthrough Results Program is a comprehensive, proven approach designed to accelerate student learning and deliver measurable results while building the leadership capacity of teachers and staff. The program integrates focused goals, progress monitoring, rapid action cycles, performance coaching, and targeted professional development to effectively address a wide range of district challenges.
How does the Breakthrough Results (BTR) program drive meaningful change in schools?
The Breakthrough Results (BTR) program is a truly transformative approach that prioritizes tangible student outcomes above all else. Instead of starting with meetings, memos, or professional development—common starting points in education—BTR flips the script. It begins with results. The core principle behind successful change is focusing first on the impact we want to achieve for students.
So, what does that look like in practice? It means unlocking the full potential of teachers—who are already deeply committed to their students—by engaging them in a focused, ten-week sprint toward an ambitious yet attainable goal. With real-time data provided weekly or biweekly, teachers can see how their students progress. This creates a powerful momentum: teachers are energized by the progress, students are motivated by their own improvements, and together, they build a cycle of continuous growth.
These short cycles of action, reflection, and adjustment are the driving forces behind meaningful change. By putting decision-making, creative problem-solving, and instructional innovation back into the hands of teachers, BTR fosters a culture where both educators and students are empowered to achieve extraordinary outcomes.
What role does the BTR Program play in building leadership capacity at the classroom level?
One of the most powerful aspects of the Breakthrough Results (BTR) program is how it elevates leadership among teachers and staff. While district teams play an essential role in supporting and championing this work, their primary function is to create the right conditions for teachers to thrive. The real leadership happens at the classroom level, where teachers use real-time data to assess student needs and refine their strategies accordingly.
At DMGroup, we believe teachers shouldn't spend time manipulating data in spreadsheets. Instead, we build dashboards that clearly show how students are performing. This gives teachers back the time and mental energy to focus on how to meet the individual needs of their students.
Through our performance coaching model, we help school “team leads”– teacher leaders– develop the skills to guide their peers in problem-solving and collaboration. This includes setting effective agendas, facilitating productive discussions, and fostering a culture of shared responsibility for student outcomes. For example, a second-grade team lead isn’t just responsible for their own class’s progress—they work alongside their peers to collectively improve reading fluency across all second-grade classrooms in a ten-week cycle.
What’s most exciting is seeing teachers embrace their own leadership potential. They begin to view themselves not just as educators but as strategic decision-makers, mentors, and catalysts for change. By empowering teachers to lead from within, the BTR program fosters a school-wide culture where leadership isn’t confined to administrators—it’s embedded in every classroom, driving real and lasting impact for students.
In what ways does the BTR program empower students to take ownership of their learning?
One of the most inspiring aspects of the Breakthrough Results (BTR) program is how it activates students, empowering them to take ownership of their learning in a concrete, results-oriented way. By providing teachers with real-time, actionable data—such as reading fluency measured in words per minute—BTR ensures students can see their progress and set meaningful goals.
Teachers share this data with students, guiding them to establish clear, personalized targets. For example, a student might set a goal to increase their words per minute within a ten-week cycle. This approach gives students a sense of agency over their learning, fostering motivation and engagement.
What’s even more powerful is how this momentum extends beyond the classroom.
How does the BTR program complement existing instructional leadership in schools?
People sometimes wonder, Why do we need Breakthrough Results? How can an external organization understand our students and community? But the truth is, Breakthrough Results isn’t about District Management Group telling schools what to do—it’s about partnering with districts to create systems, structures, and frameworks that empower educators to quickly learn from their students and drive meaningful results.
Too often, existing systems unintentionally create barriers to rapid action, learning cycles, and problem-solving. Our role is to help districts remove those barriers, unlocking the creative potential of teachers and ensuring that change happens efficiently.
A key distinction is that our performance coaches are not instructional coaches. Most districts already have instructional coaches to provide content-specific strategies. Instead, our performance coaches focus on leadership skills—helping team leads develop productive agendas, facilitate outcome-driven meetings, and guide their peers toward collective success. These leadership skills complement the instructional expertise already present in schools, creating a powerful partnership between performance coaches, teacher leaders, and instructional coaches.
When this collaboration is in place, student achievement flourishes—not as an added initiative but as an integral part of how the school operates daily.