CHEVY CASE, Md. -- Safety specialists say the key to halting school violence is better communication -- even more so than extra metal detectors or security cameras.

And that communication begins with the kids themselves, experts said at the school safety summit called by President George W. Bush following three shooting rampages in two weeks at schools in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Another incident occurred Monday in Missouri.

Bush, bemoaning an "incredibly sad" wave of deadly school shootings, challenged the nation Tuesday to turn its remorse into aggressive action to keep kids safe.

"In many ways, I'm sorry we're having this meeting," Bush told the conference. "In other ways, I know how important it is that we're having this meeting.

"The violence that has been occurring in our schools is incredibly sad but rather than be upset, it is best for all of us who are responsible for helping folks not only cope, but to prevent action from taking place, it's best to be proactive," Bush said.

In panel discussions led by members of his Cabinet, speakers said the best response is basic: Get parents, school leaders, students and police to work together.

"All of us in this country want our classrooms to be gentle places of learning -- places where people not only learn the basics -- basic skills necessary to become productive citizens -- but learn to relate to one another," Bush said, sitting with panelists before a school safety banner. "Our parents, I know, want to be able to send their child or children to schools that are safe places."

Bush offered sympathy at the event, being held a Maryland suburb, encouraged parents to ask questions at home about whether their schools are prepared for emergencies. He said parents have to be proactive and get involved in their children's schools.

"I presume out of this, there will be a series of best practices that you will share with principals and school districts that explain, for example, what people could look for to determine whether or not there were early warning signs and how to respond," said Bush.

He said the recent wave of violence "troubles a lot of folks."

Communication Is Key

Encouraging school kids to be informants when necessary may be one way to stop violence before it erupts, safety specialists said.

"Our first line of prevention is really having good intelligence," said Delbert Elliott, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence in Boulder, Colo.

Because kids who plot violence often boast about it, said Elliott, schools must create a culture that encourages students to come forward with tips.

Opening the conference earlier, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said it is crucial that school systems have a crisis response plan.

"All of us who are parents know it's frightening," she said.

Spellings said it is time for people to reflect and make sure their school has a response plan for crises -- and that "every single person who needs to know is aware of what the plan is."

The speakers hit the same themes -- schools get safer when they take bullying seriously, practice their crisis plans, and talk to parents about what's happening with their kids.

"Our kids can't be expected to learn unless they're learning in a safe environment," said Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.

"The way we design our schools can be helpful in protecting our children. We had an interesting discussion about metal detectors. Some of the panel members indicate they don't believe it's an effective tool for preventing violence. One in five school shootings occur outside the school buildings, so they couldn't help in that event. Our students, as you know, are very smart and resourceful so they figure out a way to avoid metal detectors. Also one panel member said that it sends the wrong message about what we think of our kids when we have them come to an environment where they're supposed to learn and have them pass through metal detectors," Gonzalez said, explaining to Bush what happened earlier in the summit.

"I happen to agree but what do I know?" Bush said.

Wegener, Columbine Survivor Talk

Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener joined the discussion. He described responding two weeks ago, when a man held six girls hostage in Platte Canyon High School before killing one and taking his own life.

The school had just practiced an emergency lockdown in August. Students said after the shooting that they had seen the intruder, but assumed he was the parent of a classmate.

"I still think we had a safe school," Wegener said. "I think it is just one of those times when an individual was able to get in."

His story drew the room silent. "We're not supposed to lose our kids at school," he said.

Wegener said when he was in school he used to carry a 30-30 rifle in the bed of his pickup truck, but never thought about shooting anyone. But Wegener said that such a mindset is different today, and authorities need to figure out how to change people's thinking.

Florida's Citrus County Sheriff Jeffery Dawsy suggested putting more officers in schools, even elementary schools so that students in their formative years could develop have a good bond and a good relationship with law enforcement.

Others suggested armed guards posted at school entrances or metal detectors inside schools. But Wegener said those devices are not the answer.

"Would it have stopped the random act of violence that I had at Platte Canyon High School? I don't know ... Those will be things we have to think about but I think ownership in that facility by the community is probably more key than anything."

Craig Scott told the wrenching story of Columbine High School in 1999, site of the nation's worst school massacre. He recalled hiding under a table in the school's library that day when student gunmen went on a rampage, killing 12 students and a teacher. One of the slain students was his sister Rachel. He now speaks to schools on her behalf, encouraging students to choose compassion over violence.

"It's such a high price to have to pay to be able to do this, but it's so worth it," Scott said, choking up in tears. "If we can carry messages that have value and that have substance -- that aren't Band-Aid answers -- I believe that we'll have impact."

"I challenge everyone in this room to not just teach the head but the heart and point them in the right direction," Scott said.

Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis is also participating in the conference, which had 300 people gathered at the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase.

Conference Bringing Experts Together

The lack of new solutions was not surprising. School safety experts have said for years that changing school culture is the best way to halt violence, although it's hard to do.

The administration, compelled to respond to the violence of the last two weeks, said a public sharing of ideas would help because the nation is suddenly focused on school safety.

First lady Laura Bush, speaking earlier, said school children need to know the grown-ups are protecting them.

"I urge all adults across the country to take their responsibility to children -- their own children, and their community's children -- seriously," she said.

"Bringing people together to talk about what's working -- that can't hurt," said William Lassiter, manager of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence in Raleigh, N.C.

"I think schools have gotten back into a comfort zone again," Lassiter said. "I'm not saying we should put barbed wire up around schools or take other drastic measures. What we really need to look at is basic safety steps you would take at your own house."

Lassiter also questioned the Bush's administration attempt to cut $347 million in school-safety grants for states this year. Bush's budget says the program is ineffective.

Four weeks before the midterm elections, the event allows Bush to return to the politically safe issue of education and child safety. But the federal role in making schools safer is limited because education remains mainly a local matter. The White House chose to host a national sharing of ideas, hoping to seize a moment when people are focused on preventing violence.

The White House said that beyond those state grants, the government spends larger amounts on successful school safety programs through its education, justice and health agencies.

Gun control advocates were quick to criticize the president, saying the summit didn't live up to its potential because it failed to address gun control.

"The real problem is not simply dangerous people, the real problem is that these people can so easily gain access to guns," said Dennis Hennigan with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Meanwhile, there is no pattern to deadly shootings at schools.

In the 2005-06 school year, 15 people were killed in school-related shootings, said Kenneth Trump, a national school safety expert who tracks violence data. That number of school-shooting deaths has ranged from three to 24 in recent years, Trump's records show.

In the period from 1992 to 2002, 462 students and adults died at school by homicide or suicide, according to the latest government figures. Most of those killed were children.

In the last two weeks, a gunman killed himself and five girls at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, and a 15-year-old Wisconsin student shot and killed his principal.