North Penn High teacher arraigned in teen-sex case

She was a math teacher, singer-songwriter, and Mennonite Christian who, according to her Facebook page, liked having fun with her students.

But the classroom high jinks, police said, got out of hand.

Heather L. Zeo, who taught at North Penn High School in Lansdale, was charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student and sending sexually explicit Internet and phone messages to another student, also 17.

The 37-year-old Warrington mother of three was arraigned yesterday in Lansdale District Court on charges of endangering the welfare of children and corrupting minors. She posted $25,000 bail and was scheduled for a hearing June 3.

Police said the 11th- and 12th-grade teacher used Facebook to contact the students, one in April and one earlier in the school year. The one in April said that after he got a "friend request" from Zeo, they kissed and touched during her prep period in her classroom six or seven times, according to police.

They progressed to having sex in her minivan outside a Montgomery County shopping center, according to the police complaint.

The two had sex at various locations in town and at school until mid-May, but the relationship did not appear to be a love affair, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

"This was students taking advantage of what was available to them," she said.

Earlier in the year, police said, Zeo contacted the other teen through Facebook and told him that she would have sex with him if they were alone together and invited him to her classroom, but he never went. He told authorities that they had five or six sexually explicit conversations.

The school district contacted police after being tipped off to Zeo and the student last month, Ferman said. Zeo, who has worked at the 3,100-student school since 2001, was suspended last week, a spokeswoman said.

In a statement, the district said that it was "disappointed" in the charges against Zeo and that she had the appropriate state clearances. It added, "Student safety is a top priority of the North Penn School District."

Zeo certainly seemed like a popular teacher, according to the many messages of support from students on her Facebook page after her suspension.

She describes herself on Facebook as "upbeat, hardworking, confident, mom, wife, teacher, writer, performer, concerned Christian, LOVING!!"

Her profile says she graduated from Temple University with a degree in secondary math and has a master's degree in education from Gratz College.

Since the victims were close to 18, Zeo might not see jail time if convicted, Ferman said. However, teachers convicted of sexual improprieties lose their certificates to teach in Pennsylvania, a spokesman for the state Department of Education said.