Tamanend Teacher Nominated For Life Changer Of The Year Award

A Tamanend Middle School health and physical education teacher has been nominated for a "LifeChanger of the Year Award."

Brenda Scheffey is "well-known inside the district for her passion and good deeds," Central Bucks School District said in an announcement. "Her story needs to be shared with the rest of America."

Scheffey was nominated by Tamanend principal, Cheryl Leatherbarrow.

LifeChanger of the Year is an annual program that recognizes and rewards K-12 education professionals. The national LifeChanger of the Year selection committee, which is made up of past LifeChanger of the Year winners, selects 15 winners for each school year.

Cash awards and school donations are offered to the top winners.

The district is encouraging people to share and comment on Scheffey's profile on the LifeChanger website. The award selection committee takes comments into account when picking a winner, according to the district.

According to her nomination profile:

"In all of her roles, and for all of the students whose lives she has touched, her most profound, life-changing moments have been in her role as leader and facilitator of the school's "Friends." Ms. Scheffey's Friends are a select group of students who befriend Tamanend's students with autism. Together, the Friends enjoy activities in and out school and have established a culture of acceptance and kindness at Tamanend. The students with autism experience a life-changing, positive, age-alike relationship with peers. The Friends' lives are also changed as evidenced in the detailed thank you notes received by Ms. Scheffey."

According to the organization, the selection committee will review all nominations at the end of the year.

"In Spring 2017, we will be surprising winners at their schools with their awards. The top five Grand Prize finalists will be flown to the National LifeChanger of the Year Grand Prize Ceremony, which will be held in April 2017 in Naples, FL.," according to the LifeChanger organization.