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Bush pledges government will do what it can to keep schools safe

WASHINGTON (AP) – Presi*dent Bush on Saturday lament*ed recent “shocking acts of vio*lence” in schools, and promised his administration will do what it can to keep centers of learn*ing safe for students.
The White House is conven*dent ing a conference on school safety Tuesday. Federal offi*cials, school workers, parents, law enforcement officials and other experts are to gather in Chevy Chase, Md., aWashing*ton suburb noted for excep*tional schools. The conference is being hosted by Attorney General Al*berto Gonzales and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Bush and his wife, Laura, are expected to attend part of it.
“Our goal is clear: Children and teachers should never fear for their safety when they enter a classroom,” the presi- said in his weekly radio a d d res s.
In the past two weeks, three schools in three states have been hit by deadly attacks and several others have faced t h reat s.
A gunman killed himself and five girls Monday at a one*room Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. A 15-year-old Wisconsin student was arrest*ed Sept. 29 in the shooting death of his principal. On Sept. 27 a man took six girls hostage in Colorado, sexually assault*ing them before fatally shoot*ing one girl and killing himself.