Crystal Salcido was an English teacher in El Paso for about a decade when she decided to quit her job to fully dedicate her time to her invention, a lock named Slon.
The idea came to her in 2017. The name Slon means elephant, Salcido explained, saying elephants are known to protect their little ones, just like teachers protect their students.
"There's 30 other people in that classroom who haven't started their lives yet that we desperately want to protect," Salcido told KTSM-TV.
The lock consists of latches that are permanently attached to the door as well as a sling that is placed inside to keep the doors in place.
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She has different models for doors that open inward, outward or double doors, and they all work under the same principle.
Now her locks are placed in every classroom in Anthony Independent School District, which is north of El Paso at the Texas-New Mexico border. A spokesperson for the school district said they purchased the locks after the tragic school shooting in Uvalde.
Her goal now is to make the locks part of every classroom across the state and eventually the country. Salcido is also in the process of getting her Slon lock patented.
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