Adding just one or two people? See Add a New Admin or Teacher User and Add a New Student. To add students and staff in bulk, follow the steps below.
Using Clever or ClassLink? Your roster syncs automatically, so you do not need to upload a file. You will not see the upload step on your Home screen at all. Instead you will see "Request your district authorize Clever syncing" (or ClassLink). See Data Syncing with Clever or ClassLink.
Import your students and staff
You can add everyone yourself in a few minutes. The same upload adds brand new students, updates the ones you already have, and removes anyone who has left.
Where to start
Everything starts from Home.
Starting a new school year: your Back-to-school Checklist is at the top of Home. Click Get Started next to "Upload this year's students and staff."
Setting up for the first time: your setup checklist is at the top of Home. Click "Import your students and staff."
The import has three steps, shown across the top: Get Started, Set Options, and Upload & Review. You can click Back at any point, or Start Over in the top right.
Step 1: Get Started
LiveSchool asks "How do you want to import your data?" Pick one, then click Continue.
Update Data (recommended). Add, update, or remove students and staff while keeping all their points and history. This is the right choice for nearly every school, including at back-to-school time.
Start Fresh. Replaces your students and staff. This erases all points and history, so only choose it if you truly want to wipe the slate.
Step 2: Set Options
A few quick questions. Each one collapses as you answer it, and Continue turns on once all three are done.
What files will you be uploading? Choose Students & Staff (recommended), Students only, or Staff only.
Want us to mark your highest grade as not returning? LiveSchool names your actual top grade here, for example "Want us to mark 5th grade students as not returning?" Choose "Yes, that'll save me time," "Yes, except for some 5th graders," or "No, I'll handle this manually."
Want us to move every student up one grade level? Choose "Yes, move everyone up a grade," "Yes, except for students being held back," or "No, I'll handle this manually."
Step 3: Upload & Review
Start from our template so your point history is kept. Download the template and make your changes on it. Do not upload your own spreadsheet or a fresh export from your SIS. The template already has a LiveSchool ID for every student and staff member you currently have, and that ID is how we match your edits to the right people. Do not edit or delete the IDs that are already filled in. Brand new students will not have one yet, and that is fine. See Adding brand new students below.
Click "I understand, get started!" to reveal the upload area, then work through each section.
Download Student Template. It comes pre-filled with your current students.
Make your changes in that file. Edit existing rows as needed, and add a row for each new student. Leave the LiveSchool IDs that are already filled in exactly as they are.
Upload your student file under Upload Student Data. Drag and drop, or click to browse. We accept .csv, .xlsx, .xls, and .numbers files.
Do the same for staff using Download Staff Template and Upload Staff Data, if you are importing staff too.
Adding brand new students
You do not need to add new students one at a time. The upload creates them for you, however many there are.
In the template you downloaded, add one row per new student and fill in:
First Name
Last Name
Grade
Leave the LiveSchool ID cell empty. A blank ID is how we recognize someone as new, and we create them when you upload. Everything else, such as House, Rosters, and email addresses, is optional and can be filled in now or later.
A whole new grade level works exactly the same way. Add a row for each student, leave every LiveSchool ID blank, and upload once.
Review before you submit
LiveSchool shows you exactly what will happen before anything changes. You will see a summary like "200 students will be updated," plus a note on what is staying the same, for example "12 staff members, and 12 rosters are unchanged."
Click the summary to expand it and check each student's name, grade change, rosters, and house. If something looks wrong, click Replace files and upload again. When it looks right, click Submit Import.
What the warnings mean
Two messages come up often at back-to-school time. Neither one means your file is broken.
"Some rows are missing a LiveSchool ID." This is expected when you are adding new students, and it will not stop your upload. It is letting you know we found new people mixed in with your returning ones. If you meant to add them, carry on.
"These students will be removed." Worth a look before you continue. Anyone in LiveSchool who is not in your file is treated as having left. If you asked us to mark your highest grade as not returning back in Step 2, we left those students out of the template on purpose, so they will show up here. Check the names. If they are the students who left, confirm and continue. If someone is listed who should stay, open the list and keep them.
Nothing is added, changed, or removed until you click Submit Import.
Returning school tip: choose Update Data in step 1 and always start from the downloaded template. That combination is what keeps every student's points and history when you upload this year's roster.
Looking for more LiveSchool Resources? Click here!