On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees approved the promotion of Stephanie G. Taylor as the new principal of Deerfield Elementary School, effective July 1, 2022. She replaces current DES principal Jan Malone, who is retiring. Taylor currently serves as the assistant principal at Oak Grove Elementary School.

A 19-year educator, Taylor began her career as a teacher at Saxe Gotha Elementary School in 2003.

She transferred to Carolina Springs Elementary School when that school opened in 2007. During those years, she taught second, third and fourth grades.

In 2014, Taylor was promoted to assistant principal at Forts Pond Elementary School, where she served until 2021 before transferring to OGES to serve as the school’s assistant principal.

District leadership nominated Taylor for the SCASA Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year in 2021. She was also awarded a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, totaling more than $420,000, to create an after-school program at FPES. Taylor has also presented at the Global Summit for Leader in Me.

Taylor earned a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education and a Master of Education in divergent learning from Columbia College. She received an education specialist in K–12 educational leadership and principal certification from Walden University. She is a graduate of the Aspiring Principals Academy and a member of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators.