SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The state of California recently released data showing how well schools around the San Diego area are doing, including San Diego Unified, the largest district in San Diego County.

“San Diego Unified continues to make progress in some areas,” San Diego Unified School Board President Shana Hazan said. “Progress is really significant.”

That’s the takeaway, as Hazan explained, the district’s latest report card from the state.

A positive: the district saw a 3% improvement in their college and career readiness numbers.

Currently, the district is almost 63%, while other comparable-sized districts like Los Angeles Unified sit at 45%.

“It’s not just about how kids are doing- sitting in the classrooms here,” Hazan said. “But how are they doing when they leave our system? Are our kids set up for success for the long term?”

An area the district needs to continue to improve in is absenteeism. Last school year, 21% of students struggled with attendance.

While that number has declined from the year before, it’s still a problem the district needs to tackle.

This year, they’ve tried different incentives for students, such as partnering up with the San Diego Padres to reward the school with the best attendance.

ABC 10News was there when Padres Superstar Manny Machado surprised Paradise Hills Elementary School students.

Another area the district is paying close attention to is graduation rates. They saw a slight decrease compared to the year before. The district connects that to changes to the state’s graduation waivers.

During the pandemic, the requirements to qualify for a waiver were loosened. Now, the restrictions are back.

So, now the question is, what happens next?

“As to how it relates to what’s happening in the classroom, our teachers receive information; they can see how they’re doing,” Hazan said. “Principals can see at the site level how students are doing, [they] use that data to really improve instruction based on the area of growth in their schools.”

The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

In a memo the NBA sent to its team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the league revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.”

Conley’s home was broken into on Sept. 15 when he was at a Minnesota Vikings game and jewelry was taken, officials told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Portis said his home was broken into on Nov. 2 and has offered a $40,000 reward for information related to the incident. The homes of Mahomes and Kelce were broken into within days of each other last month, according to law enforcement reports, and the NFL issued a similar warning memo to its teams this week.

The NBA memo, relaying information from the FBI, said the theft rings “are primarily focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags.”

The NBA, which has also been giving guidance to team security personnel, recommended that players install updated alarm systems with cameras and utilize them whenever leaving the home, keeping valuables in locked and secured safes, remove online real estate listings that may show interior photos of a home, “utilize protective guard services” during extended trips from the home and even suggested having dogs assist with home protection.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating, disappointing, but I can’t get into too many of the details because the investigation is still ongoing,” Mahomes recently said. “But, obviously, something you don’t want to happen to anybody, but obviously yourself.”

One of the break-ins involving the Chiefs players happened on a game day — Oct. 7 — and Portis was also playing a game when his home was robbed.

“They took most of my prized possessions,” Portis said.

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