Black History Month
Spotlight: Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Biles is a three-time world all-around champion (2013–15), three-time world floor champion (2013–15), two-time world balance beam champion (2014, 2015), four-time United States national all-around champion (2013–16), and a member of the gold medal-winning American teams at 2014, the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and the 2016 Olympic games in Rio.
Biles is the first African-American to be a world all-around champion and the first woman to win three consecutive world all-around titles. Biles is also the most decorated American female gymnast in World Championships history, with fourteen medals, ten of them gold.
Simone Biles was a member of the 2016 USA Olympic team dubbed the "Final Five" who took gold in Rio de Janeiro. Other team members included 2012 Olympic all-around gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas, 2012 Olympic floor gold medalist Alexandra Raisman, 2015 uneven bars world champion Madison Kocian, and the sixteen-year-old newcomer Lauren Hernandez.
Personal Life
Simone and her three siblings entered Ohio's foster care system at age five due to her mother's substance abuse issues. They stayed in Ohio's system for three years until 2000, when they moved with their grandparents in Texas. Shortly after, in 2003, Simone was adopted by her grandparents.
Simone competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is the #1 ranked gymnast in the world and brought home the gold!
Thanks to: Airika Buford, LLMSW, Project Director, Bexar County Fostering Educational Success Pilot. The University of Texas at San Antonio for providing this information.
Brittany Coppage
CASA Volunteer Advocate, Christina Albert, was appointed to the case. She immediately contacted CPS, then reached out to the grandparents and traveled to visit the children.
