Step-by-step how-tos
Short walkthroughs with a screenshot for every step.
Getting started
- Set up your school for the first time with a spreadsheetImporting doesn't check off the task for you. Check it off once your students and staff look right.
- Set up your school for the first time with Clever or ClassLinkYour students come from Clever or ClassLink, so your district has to turn on syncing. Your behaviors and rewards don't have to wait.
- Choose which features your school will useTurning a feature off hides it from everyone except site leaders. Nothing is deleted, so you can turn it back on anytime.
- Complete the welcome wizard for a new schoolComplete a few initial questions to kick off your LiveSchool setup.
- Complete the welcome wizard for a new school yearSet your new year's dates, update your Site Leader list, and decide how to handle last year's Bank Accounts.
- Copy a ready-made welcome email for your staffA ready-to-send note that introduces LiveSchool to your staff, written from what your school has set up.
- Show students and families the intro slidesReady-made decks introduce LiveSchool to students and to families. The family deck comes in English and Spanish.
- Print a welcome letter for familiesA customizable, ready-to-print letter that explains LiveSchool to families.
- Make a kickoff banner for your school's social mediaReady-made posters with your school's name and values, ready to post when you launch LiveSchool.
- Understand the data displayed at the top of the home screenThe four data points reference the current week so far, giving you an at-a-glance view of how your school is doing.
- Follow your week so far right on the home screenLive Activity shows points and hall passes across your school as they happen, newest first.
- Act on the items in Needs AttentionNeeds Attention flags pending reward orders, teachers who gave no points last week and students without a House, only when there are some.
- See new features and updatesVisit the What's New page to see newly released features.
Points
- Give a student a pointEvery point goes with a behavior from your rubric, so it records what the student did well.
- Give the same point to several studentsWhen several students earn the same thing, give it to all of them at once.
- Give a point to your whole classRecognize the whole class at once when everyone earns it, like a quiet transition.
- Give several points for one behaviorGive more than one point for the same behavior when a moment deserves extra recognition.
- Give a student a demeritDemerits record negative behavior, and count in the red bubble on the student's button.
- Add a comment to a pointAdd a comment to provide more details on what happened.
- Give points for an earlier dayForgot to give points on the day? Record them for the day they happened, so your reports stay accurate.
- Record where a behavior happenedEach point keeps where it was given, so you can see where behaviors happen.
- Give points by scanning ID badgesScan a badge to pull up a student without searching, using your camera or a handheld scanner.
- Give the same point to a group of students by scanning their badgesScan a group's badges one after another, then give them all the same behavior at once.
- Record a point with every scanPick a behavior of focus and then scan each student's badge to record that behavior instantly with no extra clicks.
- Give points to a student at any time with the search functionUse the search box to find any student at your school.
- Add a new behavior to your rubricAdditional behaviors can be added to your rubric at any point in the year.
- Give a point for a behavior that isn't on the rubric as a teacherAdministrators manage your school's rubric, so teachers can't add behaviors to it. Share your feedback with your administrator.
- Pick a random studentCall on students fairly, without choosing them yourself.
- Charge a student for a rewardRewards are paid from the blue Bank Account, so the points a student earned still count in their green bubble.
- Charge points for a reward by scanning a badgePick the reward once, then each badge you scan pays for it from that student's Bank Account.
- Give different point amounts at onceDecide which behaviors selected will be awarded in bulk.
- Set up a self check-in kiosk for attendanceStudents scan their own badge at the door to earn a point. A daily limit counts each student once, even across devices.
- Undo a point you gave by mistakeA deleted point no longer counts toward the student's totals.
- Edit or delete a comment on a pointTeachers can change comments only on points they gave. Admins and site leaders can change any.
- Understand the bubbles on a student buttonEach student button shows running totals for points, demerits, the Bank Account, hall passes and comments.
- Change the time period the totals countThe blue Bank Account bubble doesn't follow the time period. It always shows what students can spend.
- See only the points you gaveCount only your own points in the green and red bubbles, useful when you share students with other teachers.
- See a student's behavior trends dashboardFollow one student's behavior over time, with their totals and trend chart in one place.
- See a student's point history in the TimelineThe Timeline shows the student's points from every teacher, not just the ones you gave.
- View a student's commentsYou'll see comments every teacher left on the student's points, not just yours.
- Hide point totals on the Points pageHide totals you don't want on screen, like when your Points page is projected. It only changes this browser.
- Switch to a different roster using the roster pickerYour rosters, Houses, grades and homerooms are all one click away from the top of the Points page.
- Quickly award a point to a student through the search optionSearch any student in your school, even one who isn't on the roster you have open.
- Mark a student absent on the Points pageAbsent marks are shared across your school, so other teachers see the student as absent too.
- Change how students are displayed on the points screenDecide how you want student names displayed when awarding points or rewards.
- Change the size of student buttons and what they showMake buttons bigger to read from across the room, or smaller to fit your whole class on one screen.
- Hide behavior categoriesHide categories you don't use so that behaviors you need are easier to find. Hiding categories doesn't apply across a school, only for the account of the user who hid them.
- Show or hide houses on student buttonsEach student button shows a colored stripe and icon for their House. Turn it off to hide them.
- Turn point sounds on or offSounds are set for each browser or device.
- Use the timer, stopwatch or calculatorClassroom tools open right on the Points page, so you don't have to leave it.
- Change or delete a behavior on the rubric as an admin or site leaderChanges apply to new points from now on. Points already given keep the behavior they were given for.
- Add or change behaviors on the rubric as a teacherAdministrators manage your school's rubric, so teachers can't add or change its behaviors. Share your feedback with your administrator.
- Start your rubric from a templateStart with a template when making a behavior rubric and customize it to make it your own.
- Add a new behavior category to your rubricCategories group behaviors on the Points page, so teachers find the right one fast.
- Limit a behavior category to certain rosters or gradesTeachers only see the category when they've selected students in those rosters or grades.
- Choose whether or not to subtract points for negative behaviorsTurn it off to record demerits without taking points away from students' totals or Bank Accounts.
- Choose who can see demeritsChoose whether students, families and other teachers see demerits. Administrators always can.
- Enable bulk entry of behaviorsTeachers can give the same behavior to a student several times in one transaction, up to the limit you choose.
- Allow more than one of a behavior at once as a teacherYour school sets how many of one behavior you can give at once, and only an administrator can change it.
- Get notified when a behavior is recordedSelect staff who will receive an email and push notification each time anyone records that behavior.
- Track attendance with a behaviorAdd behaviors like On time or Tardy so attendance shows up in your points reports.
- Show or hide student photos on the points pageDecide whether or not photos should show on student buttons. When enabled, teachers can still decide to disable them on their own screens.
- Choose the bank account icon on student buttonsPick the icon shown next to each student's Bank Account: a piggy bank or a star.
- Import points from a spreadsheetAdd points to many students' Bank Accounts at once from a spreadsheet, or set each Bank Account to an exact amount.
- Reset student bank account balancesWhether at the start of the year, a new quarter, or for a fresh start, resetting bank accounts will set student balances back to 0.
- Fix an accidental resetting of bank accountsMoving the reset date back undoes a reset made by mistake.
- Reset points for a single classResetting Bank Accounts applies to every student in the school, so one class can't be reset on its own.
- Reset points weekly or monthlyThere's no automatic way to reset points weekly or monthly.
- Clear all points, rewards, and reports and reset your entire accountEverything recorded before the date you pick is deleted for good. This can't be undone.
- Choose when year to date startsSet a date for “year to date” that reflects your school year, allowing for reporting and accruals to accurately reflect what you need.
Rosters
- Create a rosterMake your own roster for a class, club or group, even if your school syncs with Clever or ClassLink.
- Add or remove students when a roster syncs from Clever or ClassLinkA Clever or ClassLink roster gets its students from your school's records, so student changes are made there and sync to LiveSchool.
- Combine two non-syncing rosters into oneAdd students from multiple rosters to one roster for quicker access.
- Combine Clever or ClassLink rosters into one roster of your ownClever and ClassLink rosters can't be merged, but a roster you create can hold the students of several.
- Speed up roster creation by adding a grade or roster filterFilter the student list by a grade or a roster, then add everyone in it in one click instead of one by one.
- Save search results or scanned students as a rosterTurn a group you pulled together with search or ID badge scans into a roster you can open again anytime.
- Share a roster with a co-teacherEveryone the roster is shared with sees it in My Rosters and can change its students.
- Add another teacher's roster to My RostersHave quick access to a class you frequently help right in your Roster Picker.
- Hand a roster over to another teacherShare the roster with the new teacher, then take yourself off it. Its students and points stay with it.
- Give a substitute access to a class rosterAny staff member can open any teacher's rosters, so a substitute with their own staff account needs no sharing.
- Share a roster with every teacherUseful for school-wide groups like a club or intervention list. Everyone you add sees the roster in My Rosters.
- Take a teacher off a rosterThe teacher stops seeing the roster in My Rosters. The roster and its students don't change.
- Hide a roster from my rostersHide rosters you no longer use to keep your list short. Nothing is deleted, and you can unhide them anytime.
- Find a roster that disappeared from your listA roster usually leaves your list because it was hidden or you were taken off it. Searching finds it either way.
- Rename a rosterGive a roster a name that makes sense to you. Your rosters list in A to Z order, so a new name can also move it.
- Show a hidden roster againHidden rosters wait in their own list and can be unhidden at any time.
- Reorder your rostersYour rosters always list in A to Z order by name, so there's no way to drag them into a different order.
- Utilize a grade-level rosterEvery grade is already a roster available in the Roster Picker.
- See every homeroom in your schoolView all rosters that have been identified as a "homeroom" in your site.
- Move a student to a different non-syncing rosterTake a student off of an old roster and add them to a new one.
- Move a student between rosters that sync from Clever or ClassLinkStudents move between Clever or ClassLink rosters when their class changes in your school's records, then the change syncs here.
- Delete a non-syncing RosterDeleting a roster removes the roster from the entire system and it cannot be undone, but it does not remove any students.
- Delete or hide a roster at a Clever or ClassLink schoolA roster that syncs from Clever or ClassLink can only be deleted there. Hide it to keep it out of your list.
- Add a student to one or more rostersA student can be on as many rosters as you like. Adding them to one roster doesn't take them off another.
- Assign rosters to a teacherGive a teacher several rosters from one place. Each roster you add shows up in their My Rosters.
- See which rosters a teacher can accessEvery roster a teacher is on is listed on their user page, so you can check their access in one place.
- Download a list of every rosterGet a spreadsheet of the names of each roster, along with details about each.
Students
- Download a student list with grades and housesThe spreadsheet lists every student with their grade, House, homeroom, Bank Account points and sign-in details.
- Find a student's profileA student's profile keeps their details, family access, Houses and rosters in one place.
- See which rosters a student is onEvery roster the student belongs to shows on their profile, including rosters other teachers own.
- Add a new student and add the student to their required rostersA new student starts with no rosters. After adding them to the system, add them to a roster for easier access when awarding points.
- Edit a student's name at a CSV schoolFix a misspelled name or use the name a student goes by. The new name shows everywhere in LiveSchool.
- Update or change a student's gradeFix the grade for a student who was added to the wrong grade or moved grades over the course of the year. Only available if your site is not syncing its data from your SIS.
- Fix a student's grade when it syncs from Clever or ClassLinkClever or ClassLink sets a synced student's grade, so it can only be fixed in your district's student system. Students added by hand in LiveSchool can still be changed.
- Add or change a student's photoPhotos help you to put names to faces, making it easier to award points, especially for a substitute.
- Remove a student's photoRemove a student's photo to display their initials again.
- Upload photos for many students at onceDrop in a whole batch of photos, then match each one to its student. Each photo uploads as soon as you link it.
- Turn on student photosOnce photos are enabled, teachers can add them and they show on student buttons.
- Import a LifeTouch photo zipPhotos are quickly matched to students by school ID, or by name and grade.
- Check that Clever or ClassLink moved your students up a gradeClever or ClassLink sets your students' grades, so new grades appear only after your district updates them there.
Staff and licenses
- Add a teacher or adminUpdate your staff list to include new users and send them an invitation to log into their account.
- Send or resend a staff sign-in inviteOnly licensed staff who have never signed in can get an invite. It emails them a link to set up their account.
- Add a staff member when all your licenses are in useFree a seat by turning off the license of someone who no longer needs it, then add your new staff member.
- Promote a teacher to admin or site leader, or return their permissions to that of a teacherLiveSchool has three levels of access: teacher, admin, or site leader. Each can be set on the user detail page.
- Understand what Teachers, Admins and Site Leaders can doEach staff member has a designated LiveSchool role which can be edited by Site Leaders.
- Remove a staff member's access by turning off their licenseFree up a spot for another user by disabling their license. They can no longer sign in, but their account stays, so you can turn it back on later if needed.
- Turn a staff member's license back onBring back a teacher who returned, or whose license was turned off by mistake. Their account and rosters are still there.
- See how many licenses you're usingEach staff member with a license on uses one seat. Check how many are left before adding new staff.
- Delete a staff member you added manuallyDelete a user who was added directly to LiveSchool. Those syncing from Clever or ClassLink can be disabled under the Manage Licenses option.
- Edit a staff member's name, email or titleFix a typo or update a staff member's details for staff added in LiveSchool. Each change saves on its own.
- Send a staff member a password reset emailFor non-syncing users, you can prompt the password reset email, allowing staff to set a new password.
- Merge a teacher's two accountsTwo staff accounts can't be combined into one. Keep the account they sign in with, and remove or turn off the other.
- Change a staff member who comes from Clever or ClassLinkTheir name and email come from Clever or ClassLink, so change those there. Their role and rosters you can change here.
- Edit a staff member's roster assignmentsRemove a roster from the "My Rosters" dropdown for a teacher.
- See which staff come from Clever or ClassLinkStaff who sync from Clever or ClassLink are changed there, while staff added in LiveSchool can be edited here.
- See when staff were last activeSpot staff who never signed in or haven't been on in a while, so you can follow up or free their license.
- Find a staff memberSearch by first name, last name or email to jump to anyone on your staff list.
- Download your staff listYou get a CSV spreadsheet with each staff member's role, username, last activity, roster count and license status.
Student and family accounts
- Sign up for a family account with a signup codeYour student's school gives you the signup code. It connects your new account to your student.
- Sign up for a family account when students sign in with Clever or ClassLinkYour student signs in with Clever or ClassLink. You make your own family account with the school's signup code.
- Reset the password for your parent/guardian accountRequest a reset link to be sent to your registered email. Passwords can also be set by school staff.
- Connect your existing parent/guardian account to a student with their signup codeUse one login for all of your students.
- Register your staff email to a parent/guardian accountClaim your student's code with your staff email so that one login opens both your classes and your student's portal.
- Add your student's account when you sign in with Clever or ClassLinkClaim your student's code from within your staff account.
- Invite additional family members to follow your studentEach student's code can be used for multiple parents/guardians or family members.
- Change the language the portal is shown inYour choice is saved to your account, so the portal opens in that language on any device you sign in on.
- Change the password for your existing parent/guardian accountUpdate the password when logged into your account.
- See your student's points and activityActivity lists every point, reward and hall pass for your student, newest first, with who gave each point.
- Set a new password for a non-syncing student or family accountWhen a student or family member forgets their password and is struggling to set their own, set a password for them from the Student Detail page.
- Set a student's or family's languageThe portal opens in that language the next time they sign in, so families who don't read English never have to find the switcher.
- Copy or download a student's access code to help register them or their familiesStudents and families use the access code to sign up and connect to the student. Each student has their own.
- Change the username or email on a student or family accountUse this when someone signed up with a typo or a new email. They sign in with the new username from then on, and their password doesn't change.
- Remove a family member from a studentUse this when the wrong person is connected to a student. They lose access to that student in their portal.
- Fix a family member who signed up as the studentSwapping trades the two usernames, so the parent signs in to the family account and the student to their own.
- Turn off a student's loginThe student is signed out and can't log in. Their points, history and family's access don't change, and you can turn it back on anytime.
- Reset a student's access codeUse this when a code got into the wrong hands. The old code stops working, even on printed sheets and badges, and accounts already linked stay linked.
Connect
- See how many students and families have connectedStudents Connected counts students who have created an account. Families Connected counts students with at least one family member who has signed in.
- Find students and families who haven't signed in yetGet a list of everyone who hasn't signed in yet, including people you already invited, so you can follow up with them.
- Find families who haven't signed in yetGet a list of families who haven't signed in yet, including ones you already invited, so you can follow up with them.
- Send email invitations to familiesFamilies who haven't signed in yet get an email with a link to connect to their student.
- Invite students and families to LiveSchool by importing their email addressesInvitations can only go to students and families with an email on file.
- Send email invitations to students with a registered email addressStudents with an email who haven't signed in yet get an invitation to sign in and see their points.
- Invite families one grade at a timeSend invitations to families as you roll out LiveSchool to additional grades.
- Preview the invitation emailSee exactly what families or students will get before you send it. Each email carries your school's name and the student's first name.
- Send email invitations as a teacher or administratorOnly site leaders can email invitations to students and families. Teachers and administrators can print access sheets instead.
- Turn weekly recap emails on or offRecaps go by email once a week to every student and family member who has created an account.
- Choose the day recap emails go outRecaps go out once a week, between 5PM and 9PM on the day you choose.
House Points
- Set up your houses with the setup wizardThe wizard creates your Houses and sorts every student into one, so the competition is ready to start.
- Connect a roster or grade to a houseEveryone in a connected roster or grade belongs to the House, so you don't add them one by one.
- Turn house points on or offTurning House Points off hides it from staff, students and families. Your Houses and standings are kept for when you turn it back on.
- Add another houseA new House starts empty, so add students to it after you create it.
- Change a house's name or colorChanges save on their own, and the new name and color show everywhere the House appears.
- Delete a houseWhile deleting a House cannot be undone, your students stay at the school and no points are removed.
- Disconnect a roster or grade from a houseRemove the Rosters that make up a House. Students who were in that House are now removed from it, but they are not removed from LiveSchool and the Roster itself is not deleted.
- Add a student to a houseAdd a student to a House via the House Points page. This change can also take place on the Student Details page. If Houses were created by combining rosters, these steps won't apply.
- Add a student to a grade-level houseStudents will be automatically added to Houses that represent each grade once they are syncing from Clever or ClassLink.
- Add a staff member to a houseGive a staff member a student record so they can belong to a House and earn points for it like any student. This is only applicable for sites built by CSV, not those syncing from Clever or ClassLink.
- Add a staff member to a house at a Clever or ClassLink syncing schoolHouses hold students, so a staff member joins one through a student record. Reach out to the LiveSchool team for help adding your staff to your school site.
- Sort unassigned students into houses randomlyStudents are spread across your Houses to keep them even. It only works when every House is managed in LiveSchool.
- Remove a student from a houseThe student leaves the House right away and shows unassigned until you give them a new one.
- Move a student to a different houseMoving takes the student out of their old House and puts them in the new one in one go.
- Fix students who are in more than one houseA student in two Houses earns points for both, so remove the House they don't belong in.
- Print house welcome lettersPrint one letter per student announcing their House, grouped into piles by grade or homeroom for easy handout.
- Customize the welcome letter text and logoWrite your own message and add your school logo to your welcome letters.
- Download a list of students and their housesThe spreadsheet lists every student with their grade, homeroom and House, including students not in a House yet.
- Give points to everyone in a houseReward each student in a House at once, like after an assembly or a House challenge. All points awarded will count towards the House total.
- See which house a student is inThe Students list under Setup shows every student's House, so you can look anyone up.
Rewards and store
- Let teachers create their own storesTeacher stores will display for students similarly to the school store. Only a teacher's own students can buy from their store.
- Turn rewards on or offTurning Rewards off removes it from the sidebar and hides it from staff, students, and families without deleting anything.
- Choose whether purchases start as Fulfilled or Fulfill LaterSets the status picked for teachers when they charge a student. They can still change it each time.
- Set up your class storeYour class store holds rewards only your students can buy, with prices you choose, separate from the School Store.
- Limit a reward category to certain grades or rostersOnly students in the rosters or grades you pick can buy the rewards in that category.
- Change the name shown on your class storeYour class store is shown under your name, so it can't be given a different name.
- Set inventory and get low-stock emailsWhen a reward runs low you get an email, and students can't buy it once it's out of stock.
- Add a picture to a rewardA picture helps students, especially younger ones, recognize the reward.
- Offer a point sound as a digital rewardStudents pick a sound that plays each time they earn a point, for as long as you set.
- Duplicate a rewardCopy a reward to make a similar one quickly, like the same prize at a different price.
- Archive or restore a rewardArchived rewards are hidden from students and teachers but keep their history. Restore one any time.
- Delete a reward or categoryDeleting removes it from your store for good. Archive instead if you might want it back.
- Let students buy from your class store on their ownWith self-checkout on, your students can buy your class store rewards from their portal.
- Sort rewards by price when charging a studentPut the cheapest rewards first to quickly find what a student can afford.
- See School Store rewards as a teacherWhen you charge a student, you can see your own store, the School Store, or both.
- See how many points a student can spendA student's Bank Account is what they can spend. Rewards they can't afford yet say Insufficient Funds.
- Charge now and hand out the reward laterThe student pays now and the reward goes on your Fulfillment list until you hand it out.
- Import reward purchases from a spreadsheetCharge a whole list of students for one reward at once, like a field trip sign-up sheet.
- Filter the fulfillment list by homeroom, grade or storeNarrow the list to the students or rewards you're handing out right now.
- Mark student purchases as fulfilledFulfilled purchases move off your Pending list, so it only shows rewards you still owe students.
- Find purchases by scanning ID badgesScan a student's badge to pull up just their purchases, then hand out and mark them in one go.
- Print or download the fulfillment listTake the list with you when you deliver rewards, or share it with the staff handing them out.
- Group the fulfillment list by homeroomGrouping puts each homeroom's purchases together, so you can deliver one room at a time.
- Set times when students can shopStudents can only shop during the windows you set, and they see a countdown to the next one.
- Skip a day or pause a shopping windowPause a window until you turn it back on, or skip one day, like a holiday, and keep the rest.
- Preview the store as a student sees itOpen a student's portal in a new tab to see the store exactly as they do.