ClassTag is a teacher-parent communication service that I’ve watched develop for a couple of years now. I like a lot of what it offers including the option to track how your students’ parents respond to messages and adjust your messages accordingly. This month ClassTag announced that they are opening an online marketplace in which teachers can get classroom supplies and other products as rewards for having a high level of engagement with parents through the ClassTag system. The marketplace seems a bit limited right now, but that could change by the time it officially launches on August 3rd.

To generate interest in their marketplace ClassTag is hosting a contest that will award $1,000 of marketplace credit to ten teachers who enter the ClassTag Parent-Teacher Engagement Contest. To enter the contest you have to write a short essay about the innovative and creative ways you’ve engaged with your students’ parents. Entries are due by August 20 and the complete contest rules can be found here.