After taking a 20-year break from teaching to focus on her personal life, Julie Van Os has returned to teaching at Tracy High School.  

Going on its’ 25th season, Van Os founded a competitive cheer gym called Athletic Perfection in 2002. Van Os is one of three owners and is involved in the business aspects of the company, rather than coaching. The program has evolved since it began, with recreational and tumbling classes starting in 2010 that have sustained the business.  

While simultaneously running her business, Van Os launched her career as a teacher for the first time in 1995. 

“I thought I was going to be a lawyer, but when I started substitute teaching, I loved it. So, I dropped out of law school to become a teacher,” Van Os shared. 

Van Os was the Activities Director for the Leadership class at Tracy High before Alayna Carter took over in 2006.  

Carter believes Van Os laid a great foundation for her to branch from and is grateful for her mentoring. 

“There was a lot of time in my early career when I had self-doubt and she would always fix my crown,” Carter expressed. 

Debra Corona, and English teacher at Tracy High, details how it was like to work with Van Os, as she had also been an English teacher. 

“She’s got a lot of energy and really cares about the kids. She really believes in her school,” Corona said. 

Van Os decided to resign from teaching when her business and family grew, as it became more difficult to run everything all at once.  

However, her life took a turn when she decided to go back to teaching. 

“Your life can change, and you can do what you want whenever you would like to do it,” Van Os stated, “Taking a break and then raising kids and then coming back gives you a whole different perspective.”