Former student-teacher faces charges
By Mike Grynbaum

     A former Hall student-teacher was arrested this July, charged with having an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old high school student. Thankful Meo-Burt, 24, pled not guilty to two charges of second-degree sexual assault. A third charge has also been filed.

     Meo-Burt was a student teacher in the Hall music department for one semester in 2000. She completed her first year as a chorus teacher at East Catholic High School in Manchester this spring.

     Meo-Burt and the student, an 11th grader at East Catholic, met while recording a compact disc in the fall of 2001. The charges stem from alleged incidents that took place in May 2002. The student has described the relationship as consensual, but state law illegalizes any student-teacher sexual relations.

     The third charge was filed on Aug. 20 in West Hartford. According to a Hartford Courant report, Meo-Burt and the student were intimate at a West Hartford party. Hartford police are also investigating a separate alleged incident at the Hastings Hotel. Since the charges were filed, Meo-Burt has resigned from her position at East Catholic.

     “I think it’s unfortunate,” Hall choir instructor Lorri Cetto said. “It’s really, really bad for everybody.” Cetto worked with Meo-Burt during her stint at Hall.

     Calls to Salvatore Bonanno, Meo-Burt’s lawyer, had not been returned as of press time. Meo-Burt was scheduled for court dates on Aug. 27 and Aug. 29, at Manchester and Hartford Superior Courts, respectively.

     At Hall, Meo-Burt worked with all students in the choir department. Her major project was helping to conduct and direct the Concert Choir spring revue. Students remember Meo-Burt as an excellent instructor.

     “I thought she was a passionate teacher,” said senior Rebecca Fox, who was a student of Meo-Burt’s as a freshman. “She seemed down-to-earth.”

     Chris Ouellette, a 2001 Hall graduate, was a Choralier when he worked with Meo-Burt.

     “She had a lot of good energy and ideas which she contributed to our class,” he said. “I was very surprised to hear about her recent misfortune.”