Northrich Elementary School physical education teacher Terry Wade has found a great way to keep students and their families from eating sugar-laden foods - at least during the three months leading up to the annual TAKS test. Wade created the Northrich Sugar-Free Zone two years ago and has seen great results.

The pledge-based program creates nutrition awareness, encourages healthy eating habits and allows students to become the best learners possible. When TAKS testing is complete, students are invited to a Sugar-Free Celebration where they enjoy healthy snacks, a bounce house, an obstacle course and "Energy In - Energy Out" parachute fitness activities.

Wade realizes "Sugar-Free Zone" is a misnomer. "I know it's impossible to be 100 percent sugar-free," Wade said. "My focus is for my students to be more mindful of what they eat, read labels and make the best choices possible with what is served in our cafeterias." Students are not the only ones encouraged to sign a pledge to be sugar-free. Wade also encourages families to join "the zone" and has been pleased with the response. "Ten families signed up the first year, and 60 signed up last year," Wade said. Students and families are rewarded for their participation with certificates and pedometers.

Wade and the Healthy Kids Club, a student-run organization whose goal is to raise awareness about childhood obesity, decided to connect the Sugar-Free Zone program with the TAKS test for several reasons. "We know that students who eat healthy do better in school," Wade said. "But it also works well because it is toward the end of the school year. Everyone really likes having a big blow-out after the tests are over, so the Sugar-Free Celebration gives the students something to look forward to."

Wade's contribution to the battle against childhood obesity does not end with the Sugar-Free Zone. She also rewards students for drinking "purple milk" (skim milk). "The way the purple milk promotion works is every time a student chooses purple milk in the cafeteria, they are given a ticket," Wade said. "They bring the ticket to P.E. and it allows them to skip warm-up exercises and shoot baskets or jump rope instead. They love it." Lactose-intolerant kids are given a ticket if they drink water. The promotion has shown great results. "After a while, the kids choose the purple milk automatically. The milk vendors cannot understand how we get our kids to drink so much of it," Wade said. She is also proud to point out that the school no longer offers strawberry milk.

In addition, Wade organizes Northrich Elementary's Family Fun Nights. Last year she and the Healthy Kids Club hosted a carnival fundraiser on Family Fun Night to raise money for nutrition and fitness education, Sugar Free Celebration Day, the Campus Wellness Initiative, and a bus rental for the Marathon Kids Final Mile Celebration. "These Family Fun Nights are a great way to get the families and communities involved," Wade said. "We have the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association come out and take people's blood pressure, and we do fun stuff like face painting, bowling and raffle prize giveaways." What sort of turnout does she get? "Family Fun Night is the school's most attended function," she said.