Two ideas are testing the most compelling and engaging medium for informing would-be Clay students about all the school has to offer. If we take a step back from the medium to the message, you think about what would be most important for a deciding middle school or junior high student to hear. Who would they want to hear it from? How would they like to receive that message (in-person, through social media, etc.). Similarly for a parent. Different messages and different ways to deliver that content. I know you team has already done some work around identifying what the student and parent care about, so you could go deeper here and prototype types of messages and visuals.
To engage with the population, public places like the grocery story will give you a broad brush, but tough to find your direct target. Perhaps look at track meets, baseball games, or other after school events for middle school or junior high kids where you will have kids and parents to engage with.
For improvements to aesthetics of Clay, maybe play around with prioritizing the what and the how in buckets of ‘no to low cost’ and more expensive. What would the Clay students want to do if money was no object. If they could hardly spend any money? Would they want to be involved themselves, like school-approved graffiti? Are their images from other schools that have done something similar that you could use to invoke the discussion?
Keep up the thoughtful work here team! You are making great progress!