More than a year and a half has passed since five young lives were lost in the Nickel Mines tragedy in Bart Township.

During that time, Millersville University Dean of Education Jane Bray has been busy preparing a conference to focus on how schools can be better prepared if such a tragedy should occur again in the future.

"That was the first time we started having conversations about this type of conference — after Nickel Mines," Bray said.

"The Conference on School Violence: Preparation and Prevention," to be held Monday and Tuesday at Millersville University, will feature a number of national experts and include a free workshop for parents with children in grades K-12 on bullying in schools and elsewhere, including cyber bullying.

The Nickel Mines tragedy took place Oct. 2, 2006, when a gunman barricaded himself in an Amish schoolhouse in Bart Township and shot 10 young girls, of whom five died.

Violence in school has continued to be a hot issue in recent years in part because of the shootings at Virginia Tech University in April 2006 and Northern Illinois State University in February.

"Anytime an incident occurs around the country, we realize that (school violence) is a national issue," Bray said.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffery Miller is among the many speakers scheduled to give presentations.

Miller said he plans to address the Nickel Mines tragedy at the conference.

"I thought it might be good to show (those in attendance) about the incident a little bit," Miller said. "And then after we talk about it, I can talk to the audience about some things that the state police recommend to lower the possibility of this happening to schools in the future."

Miller has been with the state police since 1984 and has served as commissioner since 2003. He was one of the first responders to Nickel Mines.

"I think the one thing about the Nickel Mines tragedy that we've all seen is that this kind of incident can happen to any school," Miller said. "That happened at a small Amish school, and it certainly makes the other points that we're trying to get across to bigger schools a little bit more salient."

Millersville University police Chief Wayne Silcox, who helped coordinate a campus lockdown in April that resulted from a possible safety threat, will speak on "Active Shooter Awareness."

"This is a program I put together following the Virginia Tech tragedy," Wilcox said.

"It really deals with what people should expect during a school emergency with police responding and how people can reduce their risk of getting injured."

The conference also will include a free workshop on bullying for parents from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday. Hilda Quiroz Graham, a keynote presenter, program developer, training specialist and author for the National School Safety Center, will give the presentation.

"I really try to focus on the definition of bullying," Graham said. "I'm not going to go deep into the psyche of the bully. I'm going to present the information on how to take away the opportunity for the bullying to even take place."

The conference will be held at the Bolger Conference Center on the Millersville University campus.

Cost to attend is $35 for general admission or $15 with Millersville University ID. Registration is required. Those interested in the free workshop on bullying are required to register as well.

For tickets, visit www.muticketsonline.com or call 872-3811.

E-mail: jwalk@lnpnews.com