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Import Your Students and Staff

How to bulk import your students and staff into LiveSchool using the three-step import wizard.

Written by Laura Litton

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.

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.

  1. What files will you be uploading? Choose Students & Staff (recommended), Students only, or Staff only.

  2. 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."

  3. 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

You must use our template to keep your point history. Download the template and make your changes on it. Do not upload your own spreadsheet. The template already has a LiveSchool ID for every student and staff member, and that ID is how we match your edits to the right people and keep their points and history. Leave the LiveSchool ID column exactly as it is.

Click "I understand, get started!" to reveal the upload area, then work through each section.

  1. Download Student Template. It comes pre-filled with your current students.

  2. Make your changes in that file, leaving the LiveSchool ID column untouched.

  3. Upload Student File. Drag and drop, or click to browse. We accept .csv, .xlsx, .xls, and .numbers files.

  4. Do the same for staff using Download Staff Template and Upload Staff File, if you are importing staff too.

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.

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!

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