Richmond has gone to considerable expense to get rid of its public display of affection for its Confederate and slavery past.

So it seems only right that the city School Board approved replacing the name of George Wythe, the great Virginia legal scholar and teacher, for being a slave owner. (Even though Mr. Wythe became an outspoken opponent of slavery and promoted emancipation, freeing his own slaves and arguing for everyone else to do so.)

But is the replacement name, Richmond High School for the Arts, the right choice?

In our view, that name that will be used when the new replacement high school finally opens should be a citywide operation open to any students interested in dance, music, singing, painting and other arts.

As it stands now, the school will be limited to serve those students who live within the school’s designated at- tendance zone. The School Board and the administration apparently talked about the idea of a citywide program, but did nothing to advance it.

That is a mistake. Young people who are eager to be engaged in the arts should have that opportunity by attending a specialized school that exists for them.

Now, thanks to shortsighted planning and a lack of vision by school leaders, some portion of the new school’s student body will be forced to participate in programs that fail to meet their needs.

Another question to be resolved: What will be the arts programming focus? Is it just to introduce students to performance or will this be a place that will promote career training?

The arts are a major industry, which requires people who can record music, market artists, design costumes, film productions, write or fill other crucial positions that allow a performer to appear in front of an audience.

Indeed, scores of RPS graduates have made or are making names for themselves in various artistic and creative spaces.

Consider the culinary arts, for example. Ever heard of or ate at Soul Taco and Jewfro in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom area? If you have and left one of its venues smacking your lips, thank William “Trey” Owens, the venues’ owner and proprietor who is a “proud” graduate of Richmond Community High School.

Although Mr. Owens honed his craft by watching his grandmother cook, one can only imagine how his future would have been baked had he been introduced to the culinary arts in high school or even middle school.

“I’ve always had a passion for cuisine whether it be through consumption or production,” Mr. Owens states in an BLKRVA online interview. “I had no idea restaurant ownership was possible for me, but by sheer nature of me taking a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ approach to life, an opportunity came along and I had to seize it.”

Another culinary artist, Shenarri Freeman, was featured in the Free Press one year ago after she appeared on a panel with other chefs and food experts at the Black-owned Salamander resort in Middleburg. Ms. Freeman is a 2011 graduate of Richmond Community High School who started cooking 11 years ago at the 9:30 Club, a Washington, D.C., concert hall. Then a pre-physical therapy student at Howard University, she took the gig to get free concert tickets.

Simple entrees were prepared and served: olive tapenade, hummus, vegan chili, sandwiches.

At the time, Ms. Freeman, who grew up in Richmond surrounded by a family of talented cooks who prepared heavy, traditional southern meals, had no real interest in developing her own culinary skills.

Now based in New York, she prepares mouth-watering meals as executive chef at Cadence, a James Beard-nominated vegan restaurant in New York’s East Village that has been described as “a breakout vegan hit.” In the past year alone, Ms. Freeman’s work repeatedly has been reviewed or mentioned in The New York Times, Vogue and other publications.

Then there is actor, director, producer and writer Tamika Lamison, a 1987 graduate of Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School (Remember when the three schools were combined?). Ms. Lamison, who lives in Los Angeles, is well known in the motion picture and television industry for her work, including her Make a Film Foundation, which grants film wishes to children and teenagers who have serious or life-threatening medical conditions. MAFF helps the youngsters create short film legacies by teaming them with noted actors, writers and directors.

Her writing skills talents were not lost on journalists who mentored her during a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund summer training program before she graduated high school. (Sadly, as years passed, the number of student participants from Richmond Public Schools dwindled.)

Ms. Lamison’s studies include performing arts and theatre at Howard and American Universities, and directing at the American Film Institute. In addition to MAFF, she is executive director of the CDDP-Commercial Directors Diversity Program, an inclusion program for historically underrepresented directors.

Ms.Lamison’s latest milestone involves traveling to Nashville, Tenn. where her script, “Superman Doesn’t Steal,” is a finalist in the Academy Award/Oscar qualifying Nashville Film Festival.

“Super stoked that my script made it all the way to the finalist round to be considered for the win,” Ms. Lamison, the daughter of a former RPS educator, recently posted on her Facebook page. “Excellent energetic validation as we endeavor to bring this personal story to life.”

Our point is clear. This new school needs to be more than a place where students perform in plays or concerts. It needs to be a game changer in how its curated arts programming attracts talented teachers and students by partnering with universities and industries where performing, visual and media arts not only survive, but thrive.