That being said, most of the people I went to school with treat me completely different when I moved back to my small town. Like everyone was suddenly nice to me and no one remembers the kind of person I was in school.

[-]

fierce_turtle_duck@reddit

Honestly I found it miserable. I'd finally learn everyone's names and group dynamics just in time for the semester to end and get stuck in a class with 30 new strangers to learn the names of. It was much nicer at a small school were it was the same 15ish kids I'd known for years...at most we'd get 1 or 2 new kids a year...but typically we'd lose one 😂

[-]

No_One113812@reddit

My class was around 200 people. Small enough that everyone knew everyone’s name and rep, and you could feel them judging you and reacting to your presence on the first day of class.

I'm in NYC, and our total K-12 student population is just shy of 1M students. My JHS was just 7th and 8th grade, and there were 2K of us. I could also walk or take a single bus to the two other JHSs that served my particular district. They were just about as big.

My HS was roughly the same with just shy of 4K students across 4 grades and it was NOT the largest HS in the city (neither then - nearly 30 years ago, nor now). I loved it. Here, you get to apply to any high school in the city, not just attend at the nearest school, where unless people moved a lot it'd be a lot of the same kids you already know. We commute by bus and subway just like working people all across the city, from borough to borough.

[-]

Until--Dawn33@reddit

4500 was your graduating class or 9-12th grade?

[-]

Bottdavid@reddit

I think my high school had a total of 600ish students, graduating class may of been 150 people. 4,500 is insane to me.

[-]

I went to two different high schools because the area that I was living in was growing exponentially. (Bay Area 1960's)

So many new houses and people that the first school couldn't handle all the students. We were actually on a double session for the first year (freshman) where the students were not all able to change from classrooms during the day at one time. So some of us came at 8am and others at 9am. Went to class in shifts. We never saw each other.

The new high school (sophomore to senior years) also became crowded. There were 3000 graduating. They had to use the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds to handle all the students and guests (4 per student)

[-]

crazycatlady331@reddit

My HS had roughly 100 kids per class. 80% of who were there since K.

Its all about logistics, in a dense area its easier to have numerous campuses to distribute the commuting/transportation burden. By definition most of us live in cities and are likely familiar with this structure.

I live in the middle of nowhere^tm and had a k-12 town-name central school where the elementary, middle, and highschools were 3 conjoined buildings that shared infrastructure like the bus droppoff, pool, athletics fields, ect but had separated libraries, cafaterias, gyms, ect. Some towns were small enough and close enough to instead share 1 larger combined school so you would get TownA-TownB central school.

[-]

When I was in school we had an early childhood center for K, elementary was 1-6, junior high 7-8, high school 9-12

AppropriateLuck5879@reddit

We had a similar but it was k-5; 6-7; 8-9; 10-12 but grade 9 could participate in 10-12 grade sports and extra curriculars or advanced classes.

[-]

checkerlily@reddit

They changed it on us when I was a kid. It used to be that we had middle school for 5-6 grade and junior high for 7,8,9 th grades. But then they put 5th grade in elementary and made middle school 6,7 and 8th grade. When my husband was in 7th grade he went to junior high, then they got rid of jr high the next year and he was demoted back to middle school.

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

I never knew there were places that had both middle s hill and junior high.

[-]

UnitedChain4566@reddit

It wasn't until I was on the internet a lot more that I learned that not every school did it the way I saw growing up. For me, elementary was K-6, Middle was 7 & 8, high was 9-12. Which I always thought was really weird as well because "why are you only in the building for two years???"

[-]

Character_Drive@reddit

My district currently has 5 schools that are k-6. Then all those kids come together and do 7-8th in one middle school (it should probably be called a jr high). And all the 9-12 goes to the high school. It was different when I was in school, but this is much easier to explain.

Texas here, too. I did k-3 in an old school. 4-5 at a newer school location. I started middle school for 6-8. They moved 6th grade so I was in the same building, but only for 7-8 and it was named changed to Jr High. I then did high school 9-12 at a campus next to the 4-5 school.

texienne@reddit

I attended Junior High for eighth grade in a district that had Elementary (K-5), Middle School (6-7), Junior High (8-9) and High School (10,11,12). In retrospect, it made a lot of sense.

[-]

Other-Conversation67@reddit

Our school district had the following: Elementary was K-5 Middle School was 6-7 Junior High was 8-9 High School was 10-12

[-]

PracticalBreak8637@reddit

My kids went to high school which had 9 and 10 in one town. 11 and 12 was is another town. There were ~1800 kids in each building. Busses ran between both buildings before and after school to cover sports and activities.

[-]

cstar4004@reddit

My school had classes at a different school for only a some kids. If you happened to get assigned to the classes held in the other building, they bussed you back and forth in the middle of the school day. It was only a 5-10min ride.

We called them the “Bowerstown Kids” cause they seemed to vanished half way through the day. Bowerstown was the name of the road the other building was on. It was the department of education building.

I moved states between eighth and ninth grade and ended up in junior high for an extra year because in my district in CO, high school was sophomore/junior/senior.

Thanked my lucky stars I didn't move in the other direction and end up being a freshman twice.

[-]

Spirited_Ingenuity89@reddit

Wait, they called 10 graders freshman? Did they skip “sophomore” or “junior”?

[-]

EdgeCityRed@reddit

No, it was sophomore, but it was the youngest grade in the school, you know?

[-]

HuckleberryHappy6524@reddit

From Texas also and it was the same for me. Elementary (K-5), middle school (6-7), junior high (8-9) and high school (10-12). They sorted it out my senior year (class of 2000). I believe it was K-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. My sister was in the first 9th grade class that got moved to the high school.

[-]

Amockdfw89@reddit

I grew up in Texas and for me it was

K-5

6-8

9-10

This-Professional-39@reddit

Close. But it was k-6, 7-8, 9-12

[-]

liketheweathr@reddit

I went to school in both Texas and New Jersey, and in both cases there were four schools between K-12. They broke up the grades differently, but they both had two separate schools between Elementary and High.

[-]

ancientRedDog@reddit

Four for me in Bozeman Montana (25k pop at the time).

[-]

Relevant-Emu5782@reddit

My ex husband had 4, grew up in Oklahoma. K-5 elementary, 6-7 middle, 8-9 junior high, 10-12 senior high.

The town where I now live has 4 separations for it's public schools but done as K-4 primary, a grade 5 building, 6-8 middle, and 9-12 high school.

[-]

Aggressive_Dog3418@reddit

I moved around a lot as a kid, all within Texas. I went to some localities that only had 3, elementary, middle school/jh, and high school. I also went to some localities that had 4.

[-]

findingeros@reddit

My parents had a middle school 5th-6th and junior high 7th-8th before high school too. It was a pretty large district in PA

[-]

The years I gave were for public school, but I went to Catholic school, which was Pre-8, and we called 7-8 “junior high” within the Catholic school. While 1-6 grades all had 2 home rooms each, junior high was 3 home rooms with both grades mixed together.

Then I switched into the public school system after 8th grade.

[-]

Chemical-Mix-6206@reddit

Ours was K-3, 4-6, 7-8, & 9-12. Our class breakout changed over the years as well. Started out with k-6 at the elementary school and 7-12 at the high school but then joined school districts with the next township and redistributed the grades. I assume most school districts have to do this periodically.

[-]

tiger_guppy@reddit

This is how my school district was, where 4-6 was “intermediate elementary”. But at some point when I was in high school or college, they reorganized the school district to be k-5 elementary and 6-8 middle.

[-]

[-]

TomBombomb@reddit

Same with where I grew up. Most public schools went K-6, 7-8, then 9-12.

[-]

StirlingS@reddit

In my Texas town they had elementary (K-5th), sixth grade, middle school (7th-8th). and high school (9th-12th). I think they didn't have room for 6th grade in either the elementary schools or in the single middle school building so they turned an older school building into just 6th grade.

I think they've since torn the 6th grade down, built additional schools, and moved the 6th graders into middle school.

Ultimately I think individual school districts will split the grades up based on how many kids they have and where they have the room for them. There's no one standard.

Until last year, my city in Sun Prairie had lower middle and upper middle. It was actually 6-7, and 8-9. The high school was getting outgrown, the middle school was getting outgrown, so that was their solution.

I had that in Texas but not when I moved to Ohio

The school district in Texas was just Elementary K-5, Middle 6-8, and High 9-12, but when I got to 6th grade they built a new HS and switched to Elementary K-4, Intermediate 5-6, Junior High 7-8, and High 9-12

[-]

_haha_oh_wow_@reddit

I had this too: I won't disclose my location but it's definitely a thing in some places.

[-]

Hawk13424@reddit

I also had four in South Carolina. I think it was more the time than the where. Seems Texas was also four but where I live now is three.

[-]

Moist_Rule9623@reddit

I had both, but only because they rebranded my “junior high” as a “middle school” in the middle of my time there lol

[-]

neddiddley@reddit

The school district where I live now has this and it’s driven by population. It’s a pretty large district (population wise, not geography). Elementary includes up to 5th grade. Middle is 6-8, JH is 9-10 and then there’s SH. There are multiple elementary and middle schools, then they all merge into one for junior and senior high.

Iowa checking in. we K - 4 in one building. 5/6 was another buildling ( same campus though), 7/8 was another building. then 9 - 12 last building. pretty sure it's just how the school developed over time.

In Ohio now in a HUGE school district and we have elemetary, middle and highschool.

k - 5, 6 - 8 and 9 - 12

[-]

kn1144@reddit

I grew up in Illinois and had separate junior high and middle schools.

[-]

A_Fartist@reddit

I’m in Maine, we have a lot of small towns that will have elementary schools in their town and then go to a regional high school. What happens in between can be all over the place. I had kids that I graduated with who never moved but went to 6 different schools, others 3. My sister did: k-2, 3-5, 6, 7-8, 9-12, I had the same but 3-6 were in the same school. That was in the 90’s though and the state has done a lot of consolidation and building since then. Now kids in that school system only go to 3 schools.

[-]

zoppaTheDim@reddit

I’ve never heard that called “middle school.”

A lot of districts post integration, divided their elementary schools by grouping all of a grade together, an easy way to stop arguments of favoritism of some local schools over others.

While middle school has been used interchangeably with junior high since they raised the minimal amount of schooling to eight grade.

[-]

We had similar, only the district I grew up in went from 4 schools to 5. There's the Early Education Center which has Pre-K classrooms as well as the district offices. Then the Primary School, which is Kindergarten to 3rd grade. The Intermediate School is 4th, 5th, and 6th. Junior High is 7th and 8th, and High School is 9-12. All the school buildings are on a centralized campus along with all the athletic facilities, which was nice. This is in Western NY.

Where I live now (SW Ohio) they go elementary, middle, high school. Preschools are largely private, but the district I live in does offer preschool as well. Then K-5 is elementary, 6-8 is middle, and 9-12 is high school. There are MULTIPLE elementary and middle schools in the district (basically neighborhood schools, decided by street locations/distance from homes within district) that all feed into one large high school. We also have a ton of Catholic schools, so the parish affiliated ones are usually K-8, then one of the private Catholic high schools. There are kids who also go to the local neighborhood schools for k-8 and then go to a Catholic high school. The Catholic schools have tuition which varies depending on financial need and whether or not you're a member of the parish.

The Cincinnati Public School District is also near me and has many schools, including high schools. Some are great, some aren't. Some you have to test into, like Walnut Hills, or audition for like the performing arts high school. Those are not dependent on where in the district you live. There used to (maybe still, but I haven't heard about it lately) be a lottery system to get kids into the better funded/higher performing schools. People would line up and camp out overnight to get their kids on the list for the better schools.

And there's also dual enrollment with Oaks trade schools. High schoolers will do regular high school plus trade school so they graduate with a state diploma and a trade to immediately start working in. And then there's the College Credit program, where high schoolers can knock out college classes while in high school to limit how many years of college tuition to pay. The oldest girl I take care of graduated high school and entered college with all of her freshman year college classes and some sophomore credits done.

[-]

Koren_nRhys@reddit

My kids went to 4 also. Though here MS and Jr High are used interchangeable for that 6-8 range.

K-3 Elementary 4-5 Intermediate 6-8 Middle 9-12 High

[-]

I went to elementary K-5, middle school 6-7, jr high 8-9, and high school 10-12. 9th grade was really weird because our grades counted towards high school but we weren't able to do most of the activities that the actual high school offered. Jr high was just middle school part 2. I couldn't wait to get out of there in 9th grade. That school district did eventually restructure so high school is now 9-12 and elementary school is a bit shorter.

GoodQueenFluffenChop@reddit

Weird because for me middle school was grades 7-8.

[-]

Dreamweaver5823@reddit

The standard model for junior high is 7-9, and for middle school is 6-8.

The places I’ve seen using middle school it’s been 6-8 with high school being 9-12.

Junior high, back just before I started (1976), was 7-9. The 9th grade had lots of competitive sports including a full football season, basketball, track & field. All of that was cut so the school district could afford court ordered bussing my first year. (In that city, all 9th grades were eliminated from all jr. highs and all 9th graders had to report to the same school building downtown. That was called the 9th grade center.)

[-]

cruzweb@reddit

There's a lot of philosophies about what the "best" breakup is for middle school. 6-8? 5-8? 7-8? It all depends on the state, district, buildings available, number of kids, bus availability, etc.

[-]

Alternative-Law4626@reddit

If I were to render an opinion, just based on my experience going to a 7-8 (functionally because 9th was a separate school), and then going to a military school where it was 7-junior college. I’d say, best split is 6-8.

Freshman year won’t be pleasant, but I think it makes high school flow better. I was in a mixed unit in military school high school and Junior college so rougher than normal. I still managed starting as a very undersized for my age freshman. (5’3” and < 95 lbs). Still managed to letter in football, and track.

Anyway, tough ages. I’m sure there’s no universal answer.

[-]

cruzweb@reddit

The "sizing" is definitely a challenge that people try to figure out how to mitigate. It's really a question of how to keep kids safe, and how far apart in age and size is appropriate for kids to be comingling in the hallways, lunch, recess, etc. High school seniors either are or are basically adults. How young do you put children in the proximity of "basically adults"? On the other end of the spectrum, how old do you put big kids with little kids?

No right answer. Lots of context and nuance. Lots of opinions.

[-]

Playful-Business7457@reddit

My junior high (what I called it) in the Bay Area was called "Parkside Intermediate School" for grades 7-8.

My sister went to a middle school in DFW, grades 6-8, and so did my kids.

When I moved to DFW, I went to a Freshman Center for 9th, which I thought was lame as I'd already started the year at a regular high school in the Bay.

Zaidswith@reddit

City system where I grew up had primary school k-2, elementary school 3-5, middle school 6-8, high school 9-12. I always assumed it was a function of the building becoming too small and splitting it was a better use of resources.

County had elementary k-5, middle 6-8, high 9-12.

And back in the day there was k-6, 7-9 as junior high, 10-12 as senior high school, but it all got reassigned with the switch to middle schools.

My mother went to a k-6, intermediate 7-8, high 9-12.

There's so many ways to split up the grades.

[-]

wfbhp@reddit

A very good point. In my area, the four schools could definitely have been result of historically shifting demographics and geography. I really don't have any idea about the history of my school system childhood, but the elementary school (k-3) was by far the oldest building of the four, so it may have originally had all of the students in one place. Given the local geography, it might have made sense when they needed to expand to build an entire new building in a somewhat removed but not far off location. That original elementary school is gone now, it was torn down sometime after I graduated high school when they were doing asbestos abatement.

[-]

ChuckHale@reddit

Whaaat?

The school district my kids went to had a separate building for every 2 grades until highschool so if you were there the entire time you'd have gone through six buildings, each entirely separate with their own administration's. (Pre-K and K, 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8, then 9-12).

I was just curious if it was a completely different school or not. Like in my middle school, grades 7-8 were effectively in separate block of the overall school because that's where all the classes were, but we were still going to the same school.

I was just curious because if its a different school/entity, that requires another set of administrative people, janitorial etc to cover it, which can be a lot of money for what I assume are probably generally underfunded school systems.

[-]

wfbhp@reddit

I wasn't sure if you were talking about district, system, or individual school buildings when you said "school", so I just answered all of it. At the district level, admin for ask 4 buildings in the district was all shared in a central office where the superintendent was. Each building, being separate physical non-adjacent buildings had a principal and all the attendant admin needed to run that building on a day to day basis. I'm relatively certain each building has its own custodial staff. I certainly don't remember seeing any of the same janitors when I moved from one building to the next. For scale, my graduating class was just under 100, so that should give you a rough idea how many students were at each building.

[-]

Extension_Plant7262@reddit

Gotcha, and thanks for the detail. That's kinda crazy to think about for me, but I guess it makes sense with the class size. I can't imagine a graduating class that small where you probably know everyone there

[-]

wfbhp@reddit

Oh yeah, literally every single person. Nearly every single person in the entire high school in fact, though in my experience there was an almost unnaturally low level of social mixing between students in different grades, even just one year apart. No idea why, it only seemed weird to me when I got to college and that class year rigidity just wasn't there.

Got it, that makes sense. I'd guess that in most places, by the time you get to 7th grade the subjects are advanced far enough that the single general all-subject teacher is probably not sufficient.

I actually didn't even remember this until I read your description of your junior high campus, but I guess shortly after I graduated high school my school district had a temporary setup that was kind of like that. They were in the process of either remodeling or expanding the middle school I think, and the stopgap solution was for them to bring in these rental trailer type things and temporarily relocate the 6th graders to classrooms thrown together inside those. They were attached to the high school campus though due to the work being done on the other school and the junior high building being up on a hill with no room for anything else.

So for a year or two, I guess that the 6th graders shared the gym and cafeteria with the high school somehow, but otherwise were kept separate. I'm very fuzzy at this point all the details, I just remember coming home from college to visit my family and having to drive right by that trailer setup and just thinking about how awful and trashy it looked. I also remember hearing stories from people who went through that transition about how hot and uncomfortable the classrooms in there were. I can totally believe it too, because while I was in fourth grade there was some sort of damage that happened to the fourth grade wing of the middle school; for three or four months they had to use one of those trailers to house some of the classes and they rotated which classes had to use it so that it wasn't just one group getting screwed for that entire time. They were indeed hot and uncomfortable.

[-]

justalittleloopi@reddit

Our upper elementary and the high school were the same campus and shared the lunch room, theatre, sports fields, and parking. Students from the high school could TA for elementary classes for credit.

These were old schools. The lower elementary was built in the 1860s for the kids of miners after the gold rush, the jr high was 1907, and the high school was 1911. We were the 100th graduating class for both the jr high and high school, though the jr high was originally a high school.

[-]

ReticentBee806@reddit

In Los Angeles, middle school was always grades 6-8 and junior high grades 7-9.

[-]

For me in Southern Illinois, the Schools name had Junior High in it but it was referred to as Middle School and it was 7th and 8th grade.

[-]

Spirited_Ingenuity89@reddit

That’s interesting that it was officially a Junior High but they called it “middle school.” At my last district, we had a middle school (6-8), but 6th graders aren’t eligible to participate in interscholastic sports. So the sports teams were called “junior high.” That’s the only way I’ve seen both names used.

[-]

mr_humansoup@reddit

The building was named Lincoln Junior High in the 50's so that's what was in the concrete on the front of the building. In any typed documentation it was Lincoln Middle School.

[-]

Spirited_Ingenuity89@reddit

Oh gotcha, so the name officially changed, but they couldn’t update the pediment. I thought you meant people just called it that.

[-]

ozone_00@reddit

Not just regional, but it can be super localized, i.e. neighboring school districts can be different, or even the same school district over time. I went to the same school district as my parents. When they were in school, elementary was k-5 (k was optional), 6 was it's own school, junior high was 7-8, high school was 9-12. At some point after they graduated, 6 was absorbed into elementary. The same year I started 7th grade, junior was renamed middle school, but after I graduated, it reverted back to junior high and is currently 6-8. My kids went to a different school district in the same county, and their middle school was 5-8.

[-]

Spirited_Ingenuity89@reddit

Not just regional, but it can be super localized, i.e. neighboring school districts can be different, or even the same school district over time.

ritchie70@reddit

My local district is k-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.

[-]

elphaba00@reddit

I went to two different elementary schools - one for K-3 and another for 4-5. Then I did 6-8 at the junior high and 9-12 for high school. For K-5, we were all split between four elementary schools. We didn't meet our whole class until 6th grade. And this was a rural district with classes of around 120 kids.

Not in our district.

K-2, 3-5, 6-8 middle school, then high school. I don't consider 6th grade Jr high.

DeeDeeW1313@reddit

Not always.

For example, where I grew up you had elementary, intermediate, middle school, jr high and high school.

Elementary Pre K-2nd Intermediate 3-5th Middle school 6-7th Jr High 8-9th High School 10-12th

Most high schools are 9-12th but we had too many issues with 14 year old girls and 18 year old guys so they moved the 13&14 year olds together for two years.

[-]

YoshiandAims@reddit

That depends.

I've had seperate and we have some Jr/Sr Highschools (combined)

[-]

krebstaz@reddit

Mine were different schools and I went to 4. K-5 elementary, 6-7 middle school, 8-9 Jr. High, 10-12 High School

[-]

bertmom@reddit

I’m in California and in my area middle school is 6-8 and high school is 9-12

[-]

Tiny_Tabaxi@reddit

I went to 2 different middle schools and neither had high school grade levels.

[-]

Crash217@reddit

My school system growing up had k-5 elementary buildings, a 6-7th grade building, the 8th grade building, the intermediate high school for 9-10 grade and finally the high school for grades 11-12.

My daughter’s school system in the next suburb over from where I grew up; has k-5, then the middle schools for 6-7grades. Then the junior highs for 8-9-10. Then 11&12 go to the main high school.

winter_laurel@reddit

That was my experience too. Went to 4 schools

Elementary- K - 2nd grade 3rd - 4th

Jr High 5th - 8th

Pristine-Net91@reddit

I’m in a state without universal pre-k. Some children can get a spot in free pre-k through a lottery.

The public schools are K-5 (elementary) (some kids in pre-k) 6-8 (middle school) 9-12 (high school)

I sent my kids to a private half-day preschool (called nursery school in some places) for socialization and early “school readiness” skills.

[-]

oneislandgirl@reddit

Most places it is elementary, middle school or junior high, and high school. Middle school and junior high are probably one thing. Different districts divide the grades up differently often depending on the number of kids and the physical facilities. When I was in school, grades 7,8,9 were called middle school and the high school was grades 10,11,12. When my kids went, elementary was Kindergarten t0 grade 5, middle school was grades 6,7,8 and high school was grades 9-12.

[-]

polexa895@reddit

In WV it seems pretty common to go to Elementary School then High School with the exact ages varying a little but most places have just 2 schools and of the places that have 3 I've seen mostly separate buildings on a shared campus. But here it can be anywhere from K-8 to k-5 and then the rest in HS so you get some schools that are 9-12 and some that are 6-12

[-]

Footnotegirl1@reddit

So, my kiddo's school is PK-12 but they split it up into four segments. Lower Elementary (pk-2), upper elementary (3-5), middle school (6-8) and high school (9-12). Each of these has their own building, with the high school being on a completely different campus miles away.

When I went to school, it was K-8, with grades 7 and 8 having their own side hallway in the building, and then 9-12.

My husband had K-5, then 6-9, then 10-12.

[-]

Fuzzy_Flan_3947@reddit

Generally there is the Elementary school which is Kindergarten to 5th grade. Middle school which is 6th grade to 8th grade High school which is 9th grade to 12th grade.

Some school districts may have a building for just kindergarten to 2nd grade, and a building for 3rd grade to 5th grade.

Some might have 1 building for kindergarten to 8th grade.

Kindergarten students are 5 or 6, and 12th graders are 17 or 18 by graduation.

[-]

no1bookgirly@reddit

depends on the district most of the time. my dad went to a k-12 school because his graduating class was around 50 people, but my district has 4 school levels you go to. one of five elementary (whichever is closer to you) for k-4, intermediate for 5 & 6, middle for 7 & 8, and high school for 9-12. most people also go to 4k but i wouldn’t consider that really a school

[-]

flugualbinder@reddit

Middle school and junior high are interchangeable terms

[-]

DeceitfulDuck@reddit

I had just elementary and high school. 7th and 8th grades were in the same building as high school but we referred to it as "junior high" since it was almost completely separate, there weren't elective courses, and there were separate junior high sports teams.

Highschool (almost universally 9th-12th grade, 14-18 years old, but exact education varies wildly) (~2,150 students and a 16:1 student to teacher ratio

[-]

solracer@reddit

My school district had (and still has I believe) for students in the town itself grades 1-3 in one elementary school, grades 4-6 in another (the two are just a couple of blocks apart), grades 7-8 in Jr High and 9-12 in high school. However they later built two additional elementary schools that were grades 1-6 so only kids within the city limits have a split elementary school.

[-]

Milton_honey_baby@reddit

It depends on the school Some smaller schools all grade levels are in the same building . why we have different schools ? Idk budget I guess and so many kids

[-]

Lemondroplet123@reddit

There are K-12 schools, as in kindergarten to high school, so you spend basically 12 years in the same school. I went to separate pre-school, elementary school, middle school and high school.

[-]

Dear_Captain_2748@reddit

Depends on region and school district (big or small district) in the united states. I have lived in multiple states and they all had different ways of doing things. At my first city in Oregon, there was elementary k-5th grade then 6-8th, then 9-12. In the second city Massachusetts it was k-4th, 5-8th, 9-12. But in Virginia I've seen pre-k-6th, 7-12th, or prek-3rd,4-6th, 7-12.

devilscabinet@reddit

I haven't seen it often, but there is a town near me that split the high school into a "lower" and "upper" one. It is a bit odd.

[-]

EnyaNorrow@reddit

Where I grew up it was like this: Preschool (optional, age 4), Elementary school (K-6 or K-5), middle school (6-8) OR junior high (7-9), high school (9-12).

[-]

rkskr@reddit

Middle school and junior high are different names for the same thing.

[-]

BlazinAzn38@reddit

Region dependent. I grew up in Arizona and we only had middle school which is 6-8. In Texas Junior high is 8-9 and is a separate campus from the high school. Some schools also have a freshman ‘campus’ that’s a standalone building g for just freshmen to be in where they don’t interact with 10-12 grade

[-]

essabessaguessa@reddit

Funny enough, I went to school in TX but our jr high was 7 and 8 while middle was only 5 and 6

It’s can even be different with in the district. For example the district im ub the district eliminated the middle school so Elementary is K-8th in one city. However in the other 2 cities the district has schools in elementary is K-6th, Middle is 7-8th and HS is 9-12.

[-]

BlazinAzn38@reddit

I think how the district structures who interacts with who is exactly what determines if there’s a distinction between middle school and junior high school

[-]

slowbaja@reddit

I when to HISD then Fort Bend schools and in Houston 5-6 was intermediate and then 7-8 was middle then 9-12 High school but I moved to FBISD starting my 8th grade.

[-]

BigDog7779@reddit

Hah what a small world, i just moved to TX and my kids goto fort bend ISD and middle school is considered 6-8...

[-]

Draconuus95@reddit

Ya I grew up in first colony and most of them were the tradition k-5, 6-8, 9-12 spread.

I do think I remember there being a couple in the Missouri city area that followed the k-6 7-9 10-12 spread through. Might be mis remembering or could have changed since I graduated and moved away. Especially since that was close to 15 years ago.

[-]

slowbaja@reddit

Yep the middle school I went to in FBISD (Quail Valley) was 6-8 but I only went there my 8th grade year.

FB area is so boring ok for a family I guess but in my experience growing up it was boring. However things my have developed further along. Sienna Plantation was there and First Colony but that was the forbidden land and police made sure to let you know you weren't welcome there if they didn't think you were from there.

The high school I went to had students from that area and from the working class Missouri City area and the Sienna parents hated it. They cried so much that FBISD built Ridge Point High School just for them. Apparently it is a huge rivalry now in sports and my former high school hates them lol.

[-]

It depends on the school system and how many students there are.

When I was going to school (10+ years ago now) we had: Preschool Kindergarten Elementary - 1st-5th grade Middle school - 6th & 7th Junior High - 8th & 9th (This was actually highschool but they didn't have the space at the time) High School - 10th- 12th

My niece goes to the same school system but it has changed due to increased volume of kids they now go to 2 different elementary schools. This has become a more common set up for growing cities Ive noticed. They are also looking into building a second highschool. Elementary - Pre K- 2nd 2nd Elementary - 3rd - 5th

Some more rural schools or private schools will go K-12 (Kindergarten all the way to Highschool seniors) in one school depending on how many kids there are.

Like most things in America, few things are truly standardized from state to state or even city to city and there are loads of factors that weigh in. Hope that helps!

[-]

DontCallMeRooster@reddit

No. It's generally three different schools. Some school districts have an elementary school (1st-6th grade), a junior high (7th-9th grade) and high school (10th-12th) while others have an elementary school (1st-5th), middle school (6th-8th) and high school (9th-12th). Or depends entirely on the school district.

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

Where do you live where kindergarten isn’t part of elementary school?

[-]

DontCallMeRooster@reddit

Back in 197x in Albuquerque, when I started school, kindergarten was private. Us poors couldn't afford it, so it's not something I even think about.

[-]

ididreadittoo@reddit

Not all but many do. Middle school and junior high school are pretty much the same thing (between elementary school and high school).

The schools i went to were K-6, 7-9, and 10- 12 (elementary, middle or junior high, and high school) but not all schools have that same format.

Some places may have K-8 and 9-12 while others can have K in a sixth grade center while elementary is 1-5.

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

“K in a sixth grade center”? Do you mean kindergarteners or sixth graders separate?

[-]

ididreadittoo@reddit

Different classes, same school. Kindergarteners and sixth graders. I found it very strange but it was one of the schools in the area.

[-]

IsopodKey2040@reddit

Typically it's:

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

I’ve seen high school serving kids as young as 7th grade on tv but not in real life. I’ve most commonly seen elementary school (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12).

[-]

PaepsiNW@reddit

Every school district (16 total) I've been in has been 3 schools. K-5, 6-8, & 9-12. These school districts include California, Nevada, Montana, Texas, Illinois, and Ohio in various cities in each state between 1996-2009. I'd say 3 is the norm in a lot of the US.

[-]

Shabbadoo1015@reddit

That’s exactly how my wife’s school district in Western Mass was/is. Each town goes to the elementary school in their immediate area (K-6), then 7-12 is in the regional high school.

[-]

ranaelar@reddit

I'm American, and I've lived in several different states. I've never heard of anyone who went to a school system that was separated like this, into only two schools.

I'm sure that it probably does exist somewhere, but it's definitely not "the usual."

[-]

OriginalCause@reddit

Three, sometimes four. Pre-K, which is more like daycare and getting a kid used to being away from home. Elementary, Middle and High.

Junior High is synonymous with Middle School.

Australia does generally split between Kindy, Primary and Highschool so not all that different.

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

A lot of preschools don’t just have pre-k but have a three-year-old preschool class too and often classes for two-year-olds. Daycares typically serve infants and toddlers as well. Many preschools and pre-kindergartens are not like daycare in that they’re only open for 3-5 hours a day rather than the 9-10+ hours that daycares are open. Many preschools are far too academic and have homework, field trips, etc. Others are nature-oriented, Reggio, Montessori, play-based, etc. But preschool is about a lot more than getting used to being away from home.

[-]

jtoohey12@reddit

Generally, unless you opt to go for further education via college, it’s just three: Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High school (9-12). Junior high is another term for middle school.

For me, these were all three completely different buildings which is pretty common. It’s not unusual though to see K-8 schools though which are basically elementary and middle school combined.

I think it’s also fairly common for pre-school and kindergarten to be their own schools as well instead of a part of elementary school but those levels are more like glorified daycare tbh

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

Daycare is preschool that operates for a longer day, but the phrase “glorified daycare” is very offensive and ignores all of the learning that happens when kids are young. A whole lot of learning and brain development happens before kids turn three.

[-]

jtoohey12@reddit

I mean I get what you’re saying but I don’t really see how it’s “very offensive”. It just wasn’t as relevant to the convo

[-]

weaselblackberry8@reddit

Most kids I know attend preschool, but I don’t know if most kids nationwide do. Assuming a child stays in the sane area for their whole childhood, attends preschool at one school, and goes to pretty traditional public schools, then yeah, they’ll go to four schools - preschool, elementary school (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school(9-12). But some public schools are K-8 or pre-k through 8th or go through 12th. And some people move to a different district or switch schools for whatever reason. I know multiple private schools that can educate kids from early childhood through high school - I can think of at least two that start at age two and go through 12th grade and others that start anywhere from 1.5-4 and go through 12th grade.

Usually it's 3 sets of schools.

Early education is elementary. The you go to a middle school or Jr. High. Then high school.

Often it will be Elementary: K-5 Middle: 6-8 High: 9-12.

Or Elementary: K-6 Jr. High: 7-8 High: 9-12.

Some districts will call 7-8 middle school, or 6-8 Jr. High. So the actual name doesn't matter.

I have 4 kids who are all going to different schools. But we're in the city and kids can choose. They take the city busses, so I told them the could do whatever they wanted as long as they got there on time. :)

DefendTheStar88x@reddit

It really depends on the state, and the how densely populated with kids the area is.

But Elementary. JR high school and High school would be the norm id say.

Our system does K–5, 6–8, and 9–12

Elementary K-5, middle school 6-8, and high school 9-12.

Nowadays, most elementary schools in most large districts at Pk1, Pk2, K, and 1-5. Pk1 and Pk2 are usually half day programs

[-]

Relevant-Emu5782@reddit

I wasn't born until 1972, and I attended grade 6 at a public k-6 school. It's extremely variable throughout the entire country. My daughter, born in 2010, attended grade 6 at a pK-grade 8 school.

[-]

Dense_Amphibian_9595@reddit

The dominant model in 83% of districts is now the middle school model - k-5 elementary, 6-8 middle school, and 9-12 high school. 10% of districts use the traditional model - k-6 elementary, 7-9 junior high, 10-12 high school. 7% use other models. I was wrong on when the transitioning began - it started in the early 1960’s but didn’t reach our district until the mid 70’s. Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09243453.2019.1654526#abstract

[-]

mysterycanclub@reddit

I went to 4 as they transferred me partway through elementary to another school with a special program.

My hometown school is K-12 all in one building

[-]

sargent73@reddit

We had kindergarten, elementary grades 1-5, junior high grades 6-9, then senior high grades 10-12. We could never have had a k-12 with the amount of students. My graduating class was around 2000 people. So just the senior high had close to 6k students in the building. That's just the grades 10-12

[-]

EnvironmentalYam2058@reddit

It depends on where you live but the common split is Elementary is K-5(or6) Middle/Jr high (6)7 and 8th grade and High school is 9-12. My district was Elementary k-2, intermediate 3-5, middle 6-8, freshmen campus 9, and high school 10-12. The freshmen campus was a separate building near the High school but you had to walk to the high school for some of your classes because they were mixed grades like Band, Art, Languages, and some honors classes. It’s also common to have Jr/Sr high school which is only 11-12 grade. And small districts may only have 1 or 2 schools for all grades so they have lower k-6 and upper 7-12 or k-12 all in the same building.

[-]

OfficialDeathScythe@reddit

Some cities do it differently within the US. My school, for instance, used to be elementary (k-4) to intermediate (5-6) to middle (7-8) to high school (9-12) but they switched it recently so it’s elementary (k-5) middle (6-8) and high school (9-12).

I also went to preschool but that was more of a classroom at my church that taught some basic things to kids who were too young for kindergarten

[-]

TypeOneTypeDone@reddit

Junior high and middle school are often interchangeable terms. Usually it’s elementary, middle school/junior high, then high school. Some schools are kindergarten-8 or k-12, but those are small and usually private/ really small town places.

[-]

Spiritual_Bike_708@reddit

depends, you got to 3k (not required), 4k, elementary, middle, then high, so yes, 4 different schools

[-]

Glittering_Radish205@reddit

Depends on the place. But three is typical. Some places have K-8 plus high school. Some places have K-12.

[-]

SBognerAnderson@reddit

My kids (twins) went to five. Their first elementary school was way too boisterous for them, so we moved them to another elementary school. Then the district closed that school due to budget cuts, so the poor kids went to three elementary schools. Then we had middle school (grades 6-8), junior high (7-8), and high school. They had 600+ in their high school class.

I grew up in a town of 750 people. The above would have killed me. You could do anything you wanted in high school. I was a cheerleader, on dance team, in band/marching band, plays, choir, played volleyball, and was the boys track manager one year. Boys in the football team often played both offense and defense because there weren't enough kids. 😆 It totally worked for me. Understand why it's hard for others.

[-]

Astro_Birch_317@reddit

Sometimes, though most commonly, a student will attend three.

Elementary school usually starts with kindergarten and goes through 4th, 5th, or 6th grade, depending on the school district or individual school. High school usually starts at 9th grade, although sometimes 10th grade, and goes through 12th grade. Between elementary and high school, there may be junior high school, middle school, or intermediate school ... occasionally, those grades might even be split between two schools, resulting in a total of four over a student's career. Then again, it's also not uncommon for students to only move through two schools, an elementary (K-6) and a junior/senior high school (7-12) or a primary (K-8) and high school (9-12). In very small communities, there is only one school for all grades.

How schools are structured will vary by community, depending on demographics and local funding and other factors. It can also change as those factors change over time. For instance, several school districts in my state are consolidating schools due to shrinking enrollment and budget deficits. Some are closing one or more elementary schools and "restructuring" from a K-6/7-8/9-12 model to a K-4/5-7/8-12 model.

I suspect that the most common (or at least most traditional) school structure in the US is either 1) elementary (K-6), junior high (7-8), and high (9-12) or 2) elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high (9-12).

[-]

capsrock02@reddit

No

[-]

Turbulent-Sky-2324@reddit

I went to one that was 1-3, then 4-6, then 7-8, then high school 9-12. Now they have it to where it’s 7-8 at the high school.

[-]

Either-Youth9618@reddit

In general, children change schools three times in their lifetime. However, middle school and junior high are roughly equivalent. Some areas have junior highs and some have middle schools, it just depends on the local area. This affects the length of the elementary school and high school time as well.

Elementary School = Kindergarten to 5th or 6th grade

Junior High = 7th to 9th grade

Middle School = 6th to 8th grade

The high school diploma or GED. We don't have the European two-track education system, where students are sorted into "higher" and "lower" tiers and only the ones in the "higher" tier are able to continue on to higher education (and in fact, almost all Americans would find that idea repugnant and anti-egalitarian.) It's expected that every student will get, at least on paper, the same education, no matter what.

Of course, there are variances - most high schools will offer "honors" (more rigorous) or Advanced Placement (AP, much more rigorous and can give you college credit for the class if you do well) versions of classes (e.g. you can take "regular biology" where you learn the basics of cells and stuff, "honors biology" where you go more in depth and maybe do some experiments like gel electrophoresis, or "AP biology" where you go very in depth, potentially do even more experiments, multiple dissections, and so on.)

College applications are generally competitive, particularly for more prestigious colleges or popular degree programs (e.g. engineering programs are more competitive than philosophy programs, because more people want to be highly paid engineers than poorly paid philosophers.) Taking more honors or AP classes makes you look better on your college application, and more likely to get into a competition program (plus like I said, AP can count as college classes, so if you do well in AP Biology you won't need to take biology in college, if your degree requires it.)

[-]

VirtualMatter2@reddit

I see. The US system differs quite a bit grim the ones I know in Europe ( they are quite different from each other so I'm not talking universally). In Germany for example courses like math, physics, engineering, history, languages etc don't have any application process other than you need to have passed your Abitur. Some courses have minimum requirements of your final grade and entry exams though, like medicine or music. England is more like the American system with applications and high costs.

[-]

CinemaSideBySides@reddit

Most of the private schools I know were 1-8.

[-]

Veritas_Leonis@reddit

I went to 10 different schools from K-12. My Dad moved us around a LOT, and he wasn’t even in the military. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[-]

Weary-Knowledge-7180@reddit

I went to preschool (before pre-k was a thing), primary (K-3), elementary (4-5). middle school (6-8), high school (9-12). When the new middle school is done, they will switch it around a little. Primary will be pre-k-2nd, elementary will be 3-4, middle school will be 5-8, high school will remain 9-12.

[-]

Lezlord-69@reddit

Junior high and middle school are two names for the same thing typically. Though I have heard some school districts seperate the ages a little differently.

For me, it was age 5-10 in elementary, 11-13 middle school, 14-18 highschool. Some split it so its 5-11, 12-13, 14-18. Im sure there are other slight variations around the country.

I guess its also kind of weird that we have specific names for the years in highschool (freshman, sophompore, junior, senior), whereas every other grade is just referred to by the number (ie. 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade etc).

[-]

dasHeftinn@reddit

I went to 6. Kindergarten, elementary (1-3), 4th grade (its own building), middle school (5-7), junior high (8-9 [don’t ask me why 9th grade was lumped in, dumbest shit I ever heard of] ) and high school (10-12).

I went to elementary (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12). Middle and high school were the same building but opposite ends of it. No Jr High. You'd have to be one of those really big schools to even have a separate building for that cause usually its just the in between of middle/high school. My class size was only 40.

My son's school is K-5, middle school will be 6-8, and his high school is 9-12. Three schools still, just divided up a bit differently than mine.

[-]

RudyPup@reddit

My area was in the middle of the split when I was a teen so you could stay at your junior high or go to high for 9th.

[-]

Madreese@reddit

No. Some of the places I've lived have been 10-12 is high school.

Actually, I never heard of the 4 breakdowns mentioned.

Elementary/Grade School was K-5 or K-6.

Junior or Middle School was 6-9 or 6-8.

High School was 10-12 or 9-12.

It depends on the State, City, County, Town, etc. Depends on the population.

[-]

sunnymentoaddict@reddit

Generally speaking.

Primary/ Elementary School: Grades Pre-K to 5th(4-11).

Middle/ Junior High: Grades 6th to 8th (12-14)

Similarly, my public schools in Connecticut were:

Primary school (Kindergarten through 3rd grade).
Intermediate school (4-6).
Middle school (7-8).
High school (9-12).

[-]

katarh@reddit

In Georgia, my schools were broken up as:

Elementary: K-5
Middle: 6-8
High: 9-12

Certain specialty schools might break the mold. They added a "Freshman academy" for the 9th graders at the comprehensive high schools at one point, but that was after I graduated decades ago.

My high school was actually a fine arts magnet school, a combination of middle school and high school, with a bonus 5th grade lobbed in to make it an even 8 grades. So we were 5-12. Later on I heard they had to drop the 5th grade by order of the county.

[-]

AlmiranteCrujido@reddit

Usually 3, sometimes 4. But there’s no set rules, so it doesn’t just change state to state or even county by county, but by school district by school district.

Nursery, Daycare, nanny, baby-sitter, or stay-at-home parent Ages less than 3 years old

Pre-school/Kindergarten Pre-school (Pre-K, or Pre-Kindergarten) = ages 3-5 Kindergarten = ages 5-6 1st Grade = ages 6-7 2nd Grade = ages 7-8

Elementary School 3rd Grade = ages 8-9 4th Grade = ages 9-10 5th Grade = ages 10-11 6th Grade = ages 11-12

Middle-School, Also known as Junior High 7th Grade = ages 12-13 8th Grade = ages 13-14

High School 9th Grade (Freshman) = ages 14-15 10th Grade (Sophomore) = ages 15-16 11th Grade (Junior) = ages 16-17 12th Grade (Senior) = ages 17-18

-Pre-school and kindergarten were optional, not required by law. I attended both.

-Some children were “home-schooled.” They were legally exempt from attending school under certain conditions, that they prove the parent is providing education, and the child must take part in state-wide test that they give all students to gauge the efficacy of the education programs.

-Some Children went to private school, as opposed to state-run public school. Paid for by the parents, not by taxes. Typically run by religious organizations. Or for children of celebrity status who are not safe in public or distracted by paparazzi.

-Each grade was 1 “school year”. A school year typically starts in Late August or Early September, and typically ends in Late May, or Early June.

-If you did very poorly and fail a grade, you could be “held back” and made to repeat a grade twice. This means all of your friends will move on to the next grade, possibly even a new school building, you will stay behind, and are now older than everyone else in your class. You could redeem your failure by attending “summer school” which means you do not have a break between school years, and you wont get to go on vacation or enjoy the warm seasons, but it is a second chance to advance to the next Grade.

-High School used an educational credit system, like Colleges. Certain classes were worth a certain amount of credits. You needed Accumulate a certain number of credits from Freshman year to Senior year to graduate high school. If you did not get enough credits, you have to repeat senior year, they call that a “super-senior”. If you stay back for too many years, you age-out, and they expel you. To motivate you, they say If you do not have a high school diploma, you will have to work hard manual labor for life.

-There is a test you can take, called a GED (Graduate Equivalency Diploma) of which you can earn a diploma from scoring high on a single test. It is legally equivalent to having a high school diploma, although many job recruiters may look down on it. Adults who failed high school can take this. Sometimes children will take it to graduate ahead of time. Children who are homeschooled can take a GED, but they also have an option of having their own parent sign them a diploma.

-You can also attend “technical school” instead of high school. They teach special skilled trades and crafts, like welding, mechanics, carpentry, electricians, plumbers, engineers, robotics, computers, film, arts, and graphic design.

-You could legally quit school with parental consent at age 16. (35 states have raise the age to 17)

-At age 18, you are legally an adult, and can quit school without parental permission.

[-]

Diligent-Touch-5456@reddit

I went to head start (now preschool), elementary k-6, Jr High 7-9, and High School 10-12.

[-]

Legitimate-March9792@reddit

It was three for me but they just built a middle school in our area recently for 5th and 6th graders, so if I went to school nowadays, it would be four schools. That’s grade wise. Moving wise, I attended five different schools. Two elementary, two junior high and one high school.

[-]

Ryan_TX_85@reddit

Three schools: elementary school (K-5), middle school (6-8), high school (9-12). Four if you count preschool, but that's not usually part of the public school system.

[-]

yugohotty@reddit

There is one district in NJ that I’m aware of where they have elementary (K-4), upper elementary (5&6), Junior high (7-9), and high school (10-12).

But that was not the norm at all.

[-]

RRautamaa@reddit

What does that "K-" in "K-5" mean? Because in my language, "K-" written like this means "forbidden", but I don't think it's this...

[-]

Is kindergarten also considered part of school? How old are they at this stage?

[-]

21stCenturyJanes@reddit

American schools start with Kindergarten, at age 5. Way back when, it was the first formal schooling most kids would have as day care and pre-school were less common. It was mostly for kids to learn basic things like colors and numbers and social interaction, there wasn't much "schooling". In recent generations Kindergarten has focused more on early reading and learning through play and most kids have been to some pre-school or day care before getting to Kindergarten.

[-]

screenaholic@reddit

Yes, typically. Elementary schools are typically 6 grades total, K-5. Kindergarten is for 5 year olds typically.

There's also "pre-k" which is typically an optional school parents can choose to enroll kids as young as 2 or 3 to help their early education even more.

[-]

hayleybeth7@reddit

The typical is 3 schools (elementary, middle, and high). Elementary school used to be kindergarten through sixth grade then junior high was seventh through ninth grade, then high school was tenth through twelfth. But now elementary school is kindergarten through fifth, middle is sixth through eighth, then high school is ninth through twelfth.

Now that’s what’s typical across the U.S. I think this comments section is becoming side tracked with specific examples where that isn’t the case. You could have someone who went to both junior high and middle school. You could have someone who went to a kinder through 12 school so they only ever went to one school. Or any combination of things. But you asked for what American kids usually do, and usually it’s 3: elementary, middle, and high.

[-]

4myolive@reddit

My grandsons will go to three schools. Elementary, middle school and high school. I worked at a nearby school system that had five separate schools. Primary (K-1), elementary (2-4), intermediate (5-6), middle school (7-8) and high school (9-12).

[-]

Ginger630@reddit

Depends on the district. My kids will go to 4 different schools: lower elementary, upper elementary, middle school, high school. Some districts or cities (like NYC) only have three.

Middle school and Junior high schools are not exactly the same but the same school district usually has one or the other, not both. So if you go to elementary for K-6, Junior high 7-8, and high school for 9-12, that would be normal, but so would k-5, a middle school for 6-8, high school 9-12, or various permutations.

I think probably US kids end up changing school districts more often, so I’ve known people who moved around enough to rack up 10-12 schools. So that makes it harder to know exactly what is “normal”.

[-]

Jdawn82@reddit

Unless they move, it’s usually 3 schools—elementary, middle school or junior high, high school

[-]

Soggy_Information_60@reddit

I did 1-7 as elementary and 8-12 as high school. Later the county rearranged things: k-6 elementary, 7-8 junior high, and 9-12 high. Another county divided things up "evenly": k-4 primary, 5-8 middle, and 9-12 high. Each school system does things their own way but generally there are 3 groupings, with the second group being called middle school or junior high.

[-]

Dangerous-Radish6017@reddit

Depends on where you live. We just had k-5(elementary), 6-8(middle), and 9-12(high). No junior high.

[-]

K to 6, 7-9, 10-12. Elementary,middle,high school.

[-]

Tizzy8@reddit

In my area most districts are three schools over 13 years but the smaller ones are only two: K-6 and 7-12.

[-]

hobozombie@reddit

Ours was Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, and High.

[-]

childproofbirdhouse@reddit

I grew up in rural Texas. I didn’t realize until just now how many campuses I attended school on. We called them all elementary up through 5th grade, 6th was just 6th, and 7-8 was junior high. We had a campus for K-2, a campus for 3-5, 6th on its own (used to be the segregated school), 7-8 on another campus, and 9-12 was the high school.

[-]

Plastic-Ad-5171@reddit

Mine was pre-k up to 6, 7&8, 9-12. That was public school. Private schools might be different. I think the catholic school behind my house was 1-8. Then 9-12 were at the girls or boys high schools.

[-]

Lillibet3@reddit

My sibling, cousins and I went to Catholic schools. Grades 1-8 in one school and 9-12 in another. We went to different kindergartens near each of our homes but then the Catholic School added Kindergarten by the time our younger siblings and cousins came along.

[-]

WatermelonMachete43@reddit

My kids went to 4 (not including pre-k).

K-4

5-6

7-8

9-12

[-]

Cultural-Band5013@reddit

I grew up in a town where grades 1 through 6 were elementary, grades 7-8 were middle school (aka Jr high school), and grades 9-12 are considered High school.

[-]

Loud-Bee-4894@reddit

DeniLox@reddit

Some high schools are also called Secondary schools.

[-]

jonesdb@reddit

Rural schools might just be Primary School through 6th grade. High school 7th-12th.

Middle school: 6th -8th grade - 11/12 - 13/14 year olds

High School: 9th-12th grade - 14/15 -17/18 year olds

[-]

RodgerRodger8301@reddit

I would say 3 is more common than 4, but both 4 and the outlying 2 do exist. I grew up in a very rural area so from age 5-11 I was in elementary school, then moved on to high school from ages 12-18.

[-]

Bastyra2016@reddit

It depends. In my first neighborhood elementary school went through 6th grade. Then there was a JR High (7 and 8) and a highschool (9-12)

When I eventually ended up elementary school went through 7th grade and highschool was 8-12

Middle school and junior high are just different names for the same thing. Which grade range is included varies per school district.

Key thing to remember: The U.S. federal government doesn't typically regulate or manage public schools. They are typically regulated at the state level, but run and mostly-funded at the local level. The degrees to which that happens even varies from state to state.

In the 20th century before the 70s American schools typically had 7th and 8th graders in separate schools called junior high schools. Probably this was as much to limit them from bullying (K-6 kids) and being bullied by high school kids as it was to prepare them for high school.

Over the 70s and 80s a lot of what had been called junior high schools were renamed as middle schools (a name maybe imported from Japan?). Often the range of grades was shifted, sometimes for educational reasons but likely for reasons of space availability.

Middle schools in the USA might be grades 6-8, or some other ranges of grades. Not strictly grades 7-9 like in Japan.

[-]

HooksNHaunts@reddit

Not here. It’s 2. Middle school doesn’t exit and for me it was K-8 at the elementary school then 9-12 at the high school. One town was K-6 and 7-12. The whole county is consolidating at the moment though so they are trying to take it down to one school that handles it all.

[-]

ElleAnn42@reddit

It varies by location. School districts are local government and there is no national standard.

One district within 30 miles of my house has a standalone building for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. Another district has a single building for PreK- 8th grade. Middle school is 6-8th grades in most nearby district, but some have 5th-8th.

A lot of school buildings were built in the 1950's and as the population has shifted, school districts have adjusted their setup to work with their facilities.

[-]

alteregobobby@reddit

I went to 5, because my city's school system has an extra one named after someone, I think hc the population grew and it was easier just to split them up than add on to the current school.

My kids:

Kindergarten
1-5 Elementary School
6-8 Middle School
9-10 High School
11-12 Senior High School

Each was a separate location. The Senior High School had 4 separate high schools that fed into it. It was set up to look much like a junior college and had every possible educational opportunity one can imagine: trade schools, AP classes, dual enrollment (college classes taken at the high school) and a International Baccalaureate program. Every imaginable club and extracurricular was offered due to the sheer size of the school. Each year, they graduated about 1700 kids from that school.

[-]

Becks128@reddit

Where I live k-5 is elementary, 6&7 is Intermediate, 8&9 is Middle, 10-12 is High

[-]

JunoCalliope@reddit

Can’t speak for urban areas, but the district I live in only has two schools. One a couple towns over has one building for K-12. Multiple schools isn’t necessarily a ubiquitous experience.

[-]

WhtvrCms2Mnd@reddit

My experience was k-8 in one “grammar” school (private) then 9-12 in High School.

But my local (public) district was organized as:

I went to Kindergarten at a public school, then went to grades 1-8 at a catholic school. Grades 9-12 were another public school. I had friends that did the same thing, but did grades 7-8 in a middle school. So sometimes 4 schools and sometimes 3 schools.

[-]

Consistent_Damage885@reddit

Where I live, it is mostly k-5 elementary, 6-8 middle/junior, 9-12 high school. There are also some k-8 schools.

[-]

Beneficial-Ad1593@reddit

I’m pretty sure the majority of Americans go through three distinct schools: elementary, middle, and high school.

[-]

lightspinnerss@reddit

For me it was

Elementary: preschool-4th grade

Middle: 5th- 8th grade

High school: 9th- 12th grade

However I have met people with variations like a separate school for 5-6 and then 7-8th

The variations seem to always be around middle school age

[-]

Royal_Annek@reddit

Middle school and junior high overlap, you generally don't go to both.

I did because my district switched from junior high system to middle school right when I was 7th grade.

[-]

ChampionshipBetter91@reddit

My mother had a job that required moves.

The worst was where I went to junior high (now known as middle school). It was a HUGE school, with about 800 students per grade, and I had a traumatic, AWFUL hair cut the summer before beginning. So, it wasn't just a new place with new kids, but I looked HORRIBLE.

I was there for the two years it offered, but my mother was re-assigned after that and moved to an office 1000 miles away (and not far enough, in my opinion). The move happened the summer before I starred 9th grade.

She was at this office for 5 years, so I was able to attend high school all four years there. However, the high school was part of a school that was pre-K-12, so some kids had actually attended the school for pretty much their entire lives.

We have the same setup but our middle is called junior high.

[-]

It's going to differ from state to state, town to town.

[-]

Maxorus73@reddit

I went to.... 6 schools, but that's cause we moved around the country a decent amount

[-]

LonesomeBulldog@reddit

Middle school and junior high are generally the same thing (6-8). At least in Texas, most urban and suburban areas call it middle school and small towns call it junior high. The TX junior highs usually have a baby version of the high school mascot since there’s only one JHS to one HS. My HS was the Bulldogs and the JHS was the Bullpups. A neighboring town was the Apaches and Papooses respectively.

[-]

Necessary-Cow9770@reddit

Mine was K-3 , 4-5, 6-8, 9-12. My kids elementary goes thru 6th. I’ve seen some rural areas that have 7-12 as high school and don’t have middle

[-]

mlg2433@reddit

It varies between cities and states. I personally had 4. This was in central Texas.

It depends on the school. My first school was small. Elementary (K thru 6) first floor.
High school (7 thru 12) 2nd floor.

I moved and the new district had 4 elementary schools so no little kids had a long bus ride. (K Thru 5)
Then everyone came to the same middle school (6 thru 8)
And from there the High School (9 thru 12)

Current district has 3 elementary schools right next to each other. PreK thru 1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5. Then middle and high school.
And if they want, there's a university across the street.

[-]

SufficientStudio1574@reddit

3 in Michigan. 1-5 is elementary, 6-8 is middle school (also called Junior high), and 9-12 is high school.

[-]

Expert_Avocado_8445@reddit

I went to grade school and graduated after 8th grade, then went to high school for 4 years. So, only two schools.

[-]

BlackBartKuma@reddit

K-5 as elementary. 6-8 as middle school, 9-12 as high school when i went to school. But my kids go to a charter, which can be K-8, or even K-12 depending on the school. Looking at the district we will fall into (we are moving), looks like it will be elementary (PreK-6), junior high (7-8), and high schools (9-12). so maybe 3 is more common, but depends where you are

[-]

UnKnOwN769@reddit

Growing up, my school district generally had kids go to three schools: one of several elementary schools for K-5, the middle school for 6-8, and the high school for 9-12.

Eventually there were some changes, so that now everybody goes to five schools: one school for Kindergarten, a nearby elementary school for 1-3, one school for elementary 4-5, and then the middle & high schools from before.

A lot of people weren't happy with the change, since their kids were now more likely to be split up along different schools, had to change schools more often, and it is kind of a drag socially for the kids themselves, since you might end up at a school without some of your close friends you made in Kindergarten.

[-]

Hips-Often-Lie@reddit

My daughters go to an all girl school which is 6-12 grades but that’s fairly rare. Most star have middle schools (6-8) or junior highs (7-8) and 6th is still elementary.

[-]

julia35002@reddit

Not for everyone I went to two schools in rural NY. Elementary K-6 and junior senior high school 7-12.

[-]

StewReddit2@reddit

Tbh, it absolutely varies

The most intelligent answer is "it depends"

Looking back for myself and then at my kids....not to mention Dad, MIL,and BIL + many of their friends over the years from coast to coast experiencing different cities and states.

Statically, maybe only about 10% of American public schools handle K-12 on one campus/building...perhaps in separate wings/buildings.

But more often and "generally speaking" it's normally at least separated by TWO or four schools

1) K-8 .....followed by 9-12

2) But some might be K-5/6....followed by 6-8/9....then followed by 9/10-12th

Example in SoCal ....in the city of Pasadena CA

Blair and Marshall are 6-12 CIS and Rose City are 10-12 Muir and Pasadena ate 9-12

Overall "in general" on average its probably "3" schools 1) Elementary 2) Middle and 3) High

Just to say "4" could be "usual" depending on district/city/etc.

Unfortunately the country is huge and like I said it could be different based upon, even, which neighborhood .....not to mention the private schools or charters.

I think my youngest "graduated" from 3rd/6th and 8th before HS ( not counting K)

[-]

1313GreenGreen1313@reddit

This is the only good answer in the entire thread. It varies widely. The 10% of schools being K-12 feels about right, but I suspect that number is shrinking as time passes. It seems like more school districts are breaking up the one, large campus approach and choosing separate locations.

In my experience, elementary schools have more of a tendency to be smaller, with middle schools and/or junior high larger, and high schools larger yet. One school district might have 10 elementary schools, 4 middle and/or junior high schools, and 2 high schools.

I would expand on your point #2 above with the grade distributions:

K-4th, 5th or 6th grades are the most common elementary grades.

Middle schools and junior high schools can be all over the place, typically starting anywhere from 5th to 7th grades and ending at 6th to 9th grades.

High schools most often run from 9th or 10th to 12th grades, but that can vary, too.

There is elementary school, sometimes also called grade school. In some places this may be called primary school, but that's quite atypical in the US. This is typically kindergarten (children typically enter at age 5) through fifth grade.

Then the children move to middle school/junior high. This is typically sixth through eighth grade.

Then the children move to high school/senior high. This is typically ninth through twelfth grade. At some high schools students have the option to dual enroll in a local community college and can graduate high school with completed college credits or even an Associate's Degree. At some high schools students have the option to dual enroll in a local technical school, and can graduate well on their way to entering a blue collar field or apprenticeship.

In some cases, students have the option to attend a vocational/technical school in place of high school. In these cases, the vocational/technical school takes the place of the high school and has all of the state mandated courses needed for high school students in all of the subjects required that aren't part of their vocational training, English, history, math, etc. They graduate from this school fully trained and ready to enter the workforce in their chosen field. This can include things like automotive repair/tech, health services, construction and/or carpentry, cosmetology, landscaping, graphic design, welding, plumbing, electrician, and so on. They leave school ready to enter the workforce, ready to enter an apprenticeship, or having a significant leg up and amazing foundational education for college.

*red shirting explained: Red shirting a child is when the child is biologically old enough to enter kindergarten based on the local school district's age cutoff (which can vary), but the parent(s) decide to wait an extra year to enroll the child. In most cases, the child's birthday is very close to the cutoff, and they are just barely old enough to enter kindergarten, which will make them one of the youngest children in their class. Birthday cutoffs are usually in August or early September, meaning a child has to be five years old by then to enter kindergarten that year. Most children who are red shirted have birthdays from June through the cutoff. The reason for this is typically that the child is just not developmentally ready for kindergarten. My own youngest daughter (mid June birthday) should have been red shirted, but it simply wasn't economically possible to do. She was still 17 years old when she graduated high school, but typically a student turns 18 during their last year of high school.

[-]

Intelligent-Camera90@reddit

It depends on the community and how many times someone may have moved. Or if the schools redistricted.

I went to one school for K-6 and another for 7-12. Then 5 more for my undergrad to make up for it.

[-]

katd82177@reddit

Middle school and junior high are really different names for the same thing. It depends but they both cover about 6th - 9th grades. I think it’s more common to use middle school in the western part of the country.

[-]

ohheykiki@reddit

Around here it's 3, but can be 2 or even one.

Here it's K-5 as elementary, 6-8 as middle school, 9-12 high school. A lot of the Catholic schools in the area are K-8 though. Also, some of the secular privates start at 5th grade and have a lower school and an upper school.

[-]

TheyCallMeSkog@reddit

When I went to school it was:

Elementary, K-6
Junior High, 7-9
High school, 10-12

During that time, the grades you earned in 9th grade went on your high school transcript and those students were offered the option to take classes at the high school that junior high couldn’t offer, like languages and higher level math classes. Soon after I graduated, my high school officially absorbed the 9th grade from the feeder junior highs and those junior high schools in turn absorbed the 6th grade from their feeder elementary schools and are now referred to as middle schools.

[-]

ItchClown@reddit

I had kindergarten separate, elementary school, junior high school, and high school

[-]

Fuzzzer777@reddit

I went to a private school where all grades were in the same building. K-12

There were 18 people in my graduating class.

It is pretty rare. The public school in town had 3 schools. K-4, 5-8, and 9-12

The elementary school was one area of town, but the middle and High school were pretty much back to back with the athletic fields between them.

We start high school in 9th grade at another location. Again, your classmates can end up at a different high school, and some of those elementary school classmates that went to a different middle school may end up in the same high school as you.

Then there's special education, for both students that are behind and students that are ahead. I used to split my middle school years at two different schools. We'd take a bus to another school for advanced classes half a day two days each week, then bus back to middle school after. Same with high school. If you had enough credits you could graduate early, you could go to junior college to get some of your college credits.

Then advanced learning at either a trade school or college after high school.

[-]

-Boston-Terrier-@reddit

Some do.

It mostly depends on how big your district is and when your buildings were built.

[-]

ActuaLogic@reddit

Note that, in the US, schools are organized and funded at the local (city or county) level, so there is room for a lot of variation. For the most part, there are two alternative sequences. Middle school covers grades 7 and 8, which is followed by high school, which covers grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. Junior high school covers grades 7, 8, and 9. People who attend a junior high school graduate to a senior high school covering grades 10, 11, and 12. There may also still be systems that still have grammar school, covering all grades through 8, followed by high school covering grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Local control over education dates back to colonial New England, where, in 1647, Massachusetts required towns with 50 or more households to appoint a teacher for reading and writing, while towns of 100 or more households were required to establish a grammar school.

[-]

farmerthrowaway1923@reddit

I did 5. Pre-school, grade school, 5/6th grade school, middle school and high school. The 5/6th grade school honestly was awesome and I think there should be more of those.

[-]

RevolutionaryBank465@reddit

Junior high and middle school are the same things

[-]

californiahapamama@reddit

In urban and suburban California it’s usually 3 for public schools.

Elementary Schools are usually K (starts at age 5) to 5th or 6th.

Middle School, Junior High or Intermediate Schools cover 6th-8th, although sometimes you see ones that only do 7-8 or 7-9.

High Schools are usually 9th-12th

There's absolutely no consistency on that.

I've lived in places with :

K-6 Elementary, 7-8 Jr High, 9-12 High school

K-5 Elementary, 6-8 Middle school, 9-12 High School

Pre-K - 2 Early Elementary, 3 - 5 Elementary, 6-8 Middle school, 9-12 High school

[-]

Ok_Entertainment9665@reddit

Middle School and Junior High are fairly interchangeable.

Where I lived (Nevada) we were in school like this:

1) elementary School (5-11 years old) 2) Middle School (11-14) 3) High School (14-18)

[-]

donner_dinner_party@reddit

There is no consistency throughout America. In our town kids go to 4 schools: Kindergarten-2nd grade(lower elementary), 3rd-5th(upper elementary), 6th-8th( middle school), 9th-12th(High school).

[-]

Godisdeadbutimnot@reddit

Most school systems do: K-5 (elementary), 6-8 (middle), 9-12 (high). But older folks may have had something like K-6 (elementary), 7-9 (junior high), 10-12 (high).

Middle school and junior high are usually the same thing. Most districts in my area call them middle schools, and they have grades 6, 7, and 8.

Preschool (ages 3-5) is usually a separate school in my area, then elementary or grade schools with kindergarten through grade 5, then middle school or junior high, then high school. So it might be 3 schools or 4, but the fourth one is preschool.

[-]

nauticalfiesta@reddit

Just three, (sometimes two depending how small the district is)

We had Elementary (k-6) then Junior high (7-9) then high school (10-12). The district changed this when they built a new high school that was bigger than the old one and went to middle schools (6-8) and the high school became a "regular" four year school.

There were a few districts that were very small and all the grades were in one building. There was also one near where I grew up that had k-8 in one building, then the high school was just 9-12.

Long story short, no four schools isn't common. But there's lots of variations depending on the size of the district.

[-]

Artistic-Degree-4593@reddit

Where I live, k-6 was elementary, 7-8 was junior high, and 9-12 was highschool.

[-]

Atiram7496@reddit

Grew up in central Oklahoma and went to: - elementary school (K-5, ages 5-10, 19 total elementary schools in my district, ~32 in my year)
- middle school (6-8, ages 11-13, 4 middle schools in my district, ~250 in my year) - high school (9-12, ages 14-18, 2 high schools in my district, ~400 in my year)

My year at every school was on the smaller side. My high school had about 2,000 kids and the other high school was about 2,300

However, my town used to have - elementary (K-5, ? Schools) - middle (6-8, 2 schools) - mid high (9-10, 2 schools) - high (11-12, 1 school)

My husband is a middle school teacher in northern VA and they do: - elementary school (K-6) - middle school (7-8) - high school (9-12)

His middle school is only 2 grades and about 1200 kids! Each high school is fed by one middle school, unless kids transfer to a special school for academics or arts. The elementary schools and middle schools are also weird in that certain schools have gifted programs while others don’t, so if you are determined to be gifted, you go to a different school in your area as opposed to the one you might be zoned for by your address.

They also bus EVERYONE here for every activity. Where I grew up you had to live 1.5 miles from the school to be bussed and there was no after school activity bus if you wanted to do things after school.

[-]

22ndCenturyHippy@reddit

Did 6th grade in one school(middle), 7th in another(also middle), 8th and 9th in another (jr high) and 10-12 in another.(high school) only because the new middle school was being built from the baby boom from the local economy back in the day(the graduation class before me had twice as many kids) and when in elementary school in the big city we had a system called like "tracks " or something where only 3-4 classes out of the school got 3 months off at a time so if your friends are in another class on a different track you probably wont see them on your 3 month break unless its weekends and if your 3 month break landed in the winter that sucks.

[-]

WilcoHistBuff@reddit

It’s probably better to think in terms of levels rather than “schools” as in physical places where schooling happens.

Kindergarten facilities are very frequently placed in the same building or campus as elementary grade 1-6 facilities. Middle-School facilities (grades 7-8 or some times 6-8) are frequently attached to Elementary facilities or High School facilities or are stand alone facilities.

The curriculums differ. But the decisions of a local school district as to how or where to build facilities depend a lot on whether they are developed in urban, rural, or suburban environments and the nature of public school transportation.

Many towns over the last century built multiple elementary schools at shorter distances from specific residential communities with an eye towards making it easier on parents and younger children getting to school by foot or short car ride while it was assumed that older children could more easily navigate bus routes, longer walking routes, or bike routes to school allowing for greater centralization of middle and high schools.

Obviously, there can be many economic advantages to consolidating facilities for different levels of education on the same campus and one sees a lot of that.

[-]

Muscle__Crowe@reddit

Junior High is usually synonymous with Middle School though may or may not include sixth grade from what I’ve seen. Where I grew up we had elementary school go grades K-6, middle school grades 7 & 8, and then four years of high school. Other districts have junior high which is typically grades 6-8.

[-]

Question_Consistent@reddit

I had 5

My high school had 2 campuses, one for 9/10 and another for 11/12 about 20min away. So if you made a friend who was a grade above you, you wouldn't see them for a year.

[-]

Distinct_Chair3047@reddit

It depends on the area.

Some area's, yes.

Some area's, no.

Most commonly you'll see.

Elementary, middle, and High.

Or Elementary and High.

[-]

My grandson’s county does prek-2 grade in Primary, 3-5 grade in Elementary, 6-8 grades in Middle school and 9-12 grades in High School. The crazy thing is that they all ride the same school bus so you literally have 4 year olds and 17 year old on the same bus. My grandson is 5 and his bus driver has him sit in the seat behind him so that he isn’t influenced by the older kids. He has a couple of older kids who look out for him as well but it’s such a small county that they just mix them all together.

[-]

Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit

“Middle school” and “junior high” are essentially synonyms. There is technically a difference in terms of the way the schools are organized, but I teach in a junior high that works like a middle school, while my kids’ middle school worked more like a junior high.

[-]

EntranceFeisty8373@reddit

Not uncommon... Our district has early childhood (3-5 years old) in one building, elementary (6-11 years old) in a few different buildings, middle school (12-14) in another building, and high school (15-18) in yet another building. Each of these buildings are spread across different campuses across the city (pop 50k).

[-]

Upbeat_Emu_412@reddit

Middle school and junior high are the same thing. Some people stay in the same school from K-8 and sometimes but rarely K-12.

[-]

professorfunkenpunk@reddit

Middle school junior high are basically synonyms, but there are lots of variations in how things go

When I was in school, my district split elementary into k-4 and 5/6

The district I’m in now is rearranging (and it’s unclear if my kids will be impacted. Right now it is k-5, 6-8, and 9-12. But the new set up going to be k-5, 6/7, 8/9, 10/12

[-]

PockASqueeno@reddit

Junior high is part of middle school, so it’s really just three.

[-]

Active-General7166@reddit

3

[-]

Smorgas-board@reddit

Sometime. Depends on the school.

I went from Kindegarten through middle school at one place. High school at one place

[-]

WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs@reddit

Generally, you go to junior high or middle school, not both. If your elementary school is K-6, then you go to junior high for 7-8 or 7-9, then to high school. If your elementary school is K-5, then you go to middle school for 6-8, tgen to high school. Elem K-5, Middle 6-8, High 9-12 is most common now; 50 years ago K-6, 7-9, 10-12 was most common. Note that's for public schools; for private schools, Primary K-8, High 9-12 is common.

[-]

BuffaloDivineEdenNo7@reddit

It totally depends on where you are. I'm surprised reading the comments how common 3 is, I only had K-8 and then high school. I briefly lived in a neighborhood where the school district had a jr high, but i never went there as i was only in second grade. Then we moved 6 miles away and everything was K-8.

[-]

TranslatorOutside909@reddit

Middle school and jr high is typically the same thing just 2 different names. The actual gades might also vary I have seen: 6-8, 7-8 and 7-9

[-]

babassu_seeds@reddit

It's 3. Two paths: 1) elem -> middle (grades 6-8) -> high (9-12) 2) elem (1-6) -> junior high (7-9) -> senior high (10-12)

1) has been most common for the past, dang, 50 yrs at this point. 2) is what my mom had in the 70s

[-]

Senior-Cantaloupe-69@reddit

Just three. You go to a Middle School OR Junior High, not both. Each school district can break it up how they want. Junior high is the traditional. Middle Schools came about in the 80’s. I have no idea why.

Junior high is 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. Middle school is 6th, 7th, and 8th.

I’m 52. I went to a Middle school in Kansas. My kids went to a Junior high in Washington state.

[-]

Communal-Lipstick@reddit

At least 3. A lot go to a separate pre-k school, that could add 1 or 2 more. And if they move, like I did, kids can easily go to 6 or 7 schools.

However, my husband grew up in a very small town and his school kindergarten thru graduation was on one campus, just slightly separate for the different age groups. So it really depends where you live.

[-]

MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

The usual would be three: elementary (K-5 or K-6), middle (6-8 or 7-8, occasionally 7-9), and high school (9-12, sometimes 10-12),

In many rural areas it’s not uncommon to have only one or two school buildings so you might do K-8 and 9-12, or K-6 and 7-12, or even K-12 in the same building.

[-]

QuokkaMom@reddit

Two for me as my rural high school also housed the middle school/Jr high in a different wing. But usually it's 3.

[-]

AngryAlien21@reddit

I went to 2. We lived in a less populated area. K-6, elementary school, was in one building, while 7-12 was in another. 7th and 8th grades were mostly separated from the rest of the building, and were considered junior high, but shared the lunch room, library, and some class rooms

[-]

bearsnchairs@reddit

Man, I went to four different schools in 8th grade alone because we moved twice during the school year and I changed schools again shortly after the second move.

Fifth and sixth: Elementary school C

Seventh: Middle school D

Eighth and Ninth grade: Junior High school E

Tenth grade: High School F

Eleventh and Twelfth grade: High School G

[-]

Content_Ground4251@reddit

Yes. This is a typical school setup. Some kids even end up going to 5 different schools if they go to a private pre-k school.

Each community is different based on the population and resources available.

[-]

smokiechick@reddit

It depends on the area. My kids have the elementary school (Pre-K - 6th) and the Jr/Sr High school (7-12). My youngest is in "middle school" in the high school building. The kids one town over have one building for Pre-K through 12th. I went to elementary (K-3), middle 4-7, and then the high school. It isn't standardized. But, largely, if there is a middle school there isn't a junior high, and vice versa. But, there are always exceptions.

[-]

STLFleur@reddit

The school district I reside in is even weirder.

A few years ago, my district decided to experiment with something new in order to better utilize resources. I am honestly not sure how it's working out (it's a poor school district to begin with). So, in my area, the separate schools are:

• Kindergarten • Primary (Grade 1 & 2) • Intermediate (Grades 3-5) • The 6th Grade Center (Grade 6) • Middle School (Grade 7 & 8) • High School (Grade 9-12)

It has been a few years now since they started this. So far, the district has not improved.

[-]

Kid of the 80s I had a separate building for kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school.

My kids technically only had 2. Since the middle school and HS were one big building.

[-]

daveescaped@reddit

My kids attend 4 schools; elementary, elementary intermediate, Jr High and High school. Some attend 5 if their High School has a separate 9th grade campus.

[-]

InsertEvilLaugh@reddit

I went to one for Pre-K, then one for K, then another for 1-3, one for 4-5, another for 6, then anothr for 7 and 8, another for 9, and then went to one last one for 10-12. Funnily enough, didn't move for any of those.

Pre-K was a dedicated school, and K was as well.

The place I went to 1st and 2nd was great, but then they build a new elementary that was closer to where I lived so I was sent there for 3rd through 5th.

Depends on your schooling systems.

I went to a private school for elementary through grade 8, and then public for high school. So two schools.

Most of the kids who were in my high school, who’d be in the public school system had been filtered through one of many middle schools, which I think grade 6 through grade 8. I believe they went to a separate elementary school which I think was grades kindergarten through 5. Pre schools are also separate.

[-]

MaddoxJKingsley@reddit

Depends on region. Buffalo has predominantly K–8 schools, as do some other cities. So, elementary* school from ages 5–13 and then high school for 14–17. I ended up going to three schools total only because I started off in Catholic school (also K–8 and begged to be let out of it and go to public school.

I don't think people agree on a single term for these K–8 schools since every term sounds... Wrong. Either too old or too juvenile

[-]

Evapoman97@reddit

Where we live now there are 2 schools, it's a country school and there's k-8th grade and then 9th-12th in high school. Where I went to school there was k-6th, Jr high had 7-9th (9th grade counted as HS) then HS 10-12th.

[-]

allan11011@reddit

Everyone here is telling you the various school setups they had so I’ll give mine.

K-5 elementary school, 6-8 middle, 9-12 high

[-]

JacobDCRoss@reddit

Middle school means 7-8, or sometimes 6-8. Junior high means 7-9.

One school district when I was a kid had K-3 schools, a single 4-6 school, a 7-8 school, and a 9+12 school. That is pretty rare. I moved around a lot, and work in schools, and have only seen that once.

Most common, however, is K-6, 7-8, and 9-12.

It is becoming more common to have middle schools that go 6-8. I work in one. I have never actually been to a junior high, although I know some exist.

[-]

Suppafly@reddit

middle school and junior high are the same thing and used interchangeably here, but there are a few thousand different school districts across the US and they all handle things a little differently. The split here is typically k-5, 6-8, 9-12 although smaller towns often combine junior and regular high or have k-8 in on school and then a separate high school.

[-]

L8dTigress@reddit

Actually, it's 3, Junior high and Middle school are the same thing.

[-]

Derwin0@reddit

Middle and Jr High are the same thing, the names are interchangeable.

Most kids go to 3 different schools: Elementary, Middle/Jr High, and High school.

[-]

SkyPuppy561@reddit

I only went to elementary, middle, and high school. I guess it depends on the state or municipality as to whether they choose to call it “middle school” or “junior high.”

[-]

KingPe0n@reddit

If they’re lucky, up to 5.

[-]

theoldman-1313@reddit

For me it was 3. I think that the cases where an extra building sneaks in are mostly due to space limitations, not education.

[-]

MWSin@reddit

I attended four, but only because I moved during third grade. Both districts (same state), were elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high (9-12).

[-]

Senior_Performer_387@reddit

For me grade school was one thing, middle school was another and then high school.

When i went middle school was only 7-8. I think they added 6 sometime after i went to high school.

I did go to different grade schools though due to moving around and being in foster care for a year during that time.

[-]

maestra612@reddit

It varies. I teach in a district that has Pre-K 3 through 8th grade neighborhood elementary schools. Then kids go to highschool for 9-12th grades. I live about 10 miles away. In the district my kids attend they have Pre-K through 4th in one building, then in a separate school, but attached building is the middle school that goes from 5-8th grade. Then they apply to high schools since we don't have our own, and the highschool we have a send and receive agreement with is not a good school. However, the agreement is over 100 years old and though we've been trying for the past 6 years the state will not allow us to terminate the agreement. There is another district in the county where kids go to one of three primary schools ( pk-3), then everyone goes to the same elementary school for grades 4-5, then they split into 2 middle schools for 6-8th grade, and finally they all go to the same high school. Keep in mind these 3 variations all exist in the same county within a 20 minute drive from each other. I live in NJ and there are over 600 school districts in this state which is the 47th smallest state out of 50. It's also the most densely populated, with over 9.5 million residents. NJ people are very attached to so-called " home rule" with every town having its own police, fire, school district etc.

[-]

AWTNM1112@reddit

Pre-school, elementary, middle, high school, and maybe technical or college. Some ore-schools are more like day care. Some have a set time of age appropriate instruction with several classes a day. My kids did all 5. Their pre-school had an early childhood education specialist, and separated the 3s, 4s, and 5s into three separate classes at 3 separate times. Day care was not included. It was an amazing place.

[-]

Jsmith2127@reddit

3 for most. Elementary/gradeschool, then Jr. High which is the same as middle school, and high school.

Unless you live in smaller town or rural towns. I went to 3 schools, bur lived in a larger city.

K-5 6-8 and 9-12. Was how my schools were setup.

I know some towns 5th mighg be grouped with middle school tho.

[-]

Cricket08328@reddit

Probably depends on the school system. My school went kinder through 8th, so I only went to two schools.

[-]

Junior High and middle school are the same OP.

[-]

WorriedCress7965@reddit

Here's a fun one. Every school district I lived in (KY and CA) through the start of 6th grade was Elementary K-5, Middle School 6-8, and Highschool 9-12.

We moved to AZ in my 6th grade year and I had to go back back to Elementary school, then move on to Junior High that was 7-9, then was home schooled for most of, 7-8 and transferred to a 9-12 Highschool.

Due to how much we moved around I've only ever attended one school for 2 full scholastic years (4th and 5rh) AND had to do Kindergarten twice because I started school in Germany and was too young for 1st grade when we moved back to the US.

[-]

Hefty_Obligation6303@reddit

Generally speaking middle school and junior high are interchangeable names and typically refer to 6-8th grade

[-]

This-Reindeer6063@reddit

I've been to three. But most go to four.

My first school was PreK-8th grade Second was high school And third was college

But typically it's elementary 1-5, middle school/junior high 6-8, high school 9-12 and college

[-]

pubesinourteeth@reddit

No. The most standard is one school for k-8, then another for high school aka 9-12th grade. Middle school and junior high usually do not coexist but if they did it would probably be k-3, 4-6 (middle school), 7-9 (junior high) and 10-12.

[-]

satellite_station@reddit

I went to like 6 schools from K-12. 🙃

[-]

Batty_briefs@reddit

I went to four different schools. My school district had a separate middle school. Not every school district in my state did this.

Elementary school was Kindergarten - 5th grade. Middle school was 6th and 7th grade. Jr High was 8th and 9th grade. High school was 10th - 12th grade.

On one hand, it meant I started being able to participate in electives like band at a younger age. The flip side is that when I transferred to a district that didn't have middle school, some of my credits weren't recognized by the district and didn't transfer, so I had to repeat some classes and do summer school to catch up with my peers.

[-]

areohbeevee@reddit

I went to one school until 8th grade and then another for high school

[-]

Most common is to have three school types: elementary, middle and high schools. Some common groupings:

Elementary K-5, middle 6-8, HS 9-12

Elementary K-4, middle 5-8, HS 9-12

Elementary K-6, middle 7-8, HS 9-12

Sometimes middle and jr high are the same, sometimes different. Could be middle school 5-6 and JH 7-8. You may see intermediate school as a name.

Less common:

Elementary K-3, intermediate 4-6, JH 7-8, HS 9-12

Elementary K-6, middle 7-9, HS 10-12 (in this case the 9th grade still gets HS credits they are just housed at the JH building. This is usually done for reasons of building space at the HS)

[-]

collin-h@reddit

depends.

In my small community they had one building for K-6th grade, and a "Jr. Sr. High School" that was 7-12. So I went to 2 schools.

Most school districts have either middle school or junior high. In practice, they're basically the same and can be used interchangeably most of the time.

People who are really into educational theories and models could better explain the difference. Technically, a middle school would group the kids more closely, so you would have different teachers for each subject, but be in class with basically the same kids all day. Junior high would have different teachers and each class might also be a different group of kids from the same grade.

But again, in practice those terms are used interchangeably. And the name of the school might not match which model it follows, depending on the current administration and school board. "Our Town Middle School" wouldn't change its name when the new principal runs it as a junior high.

The other difference is simply that middle school tends to be slightly younger. My school district had two middle schools that were both 6th-8th grade. Friends in a neighboring school district had junior high from 7th-9th grade instead. But my middle school followed a junior high model, so I was in different classes with different kids all day.

My sister is 5 years younger than me, so when she went to the same middle school, they had a different principal and each grade was broken into "teams" where there were about 100 kids per team with 4 teams per grade. Each team shared a math, English, social studies, and science teacher.

[-]

Itchy_Pangolin_394@reddit

I went to exactly 4. I lived in the same house until I was 19.

michelle427@reddit

Most American kids go to Preschool. Whether it’s a half day program or full daycare. Prior to Kindergarten. Even if it’s just the year before.

depends on the kid and the school district

[-]

Angry_GorillaBS@reddit

Middle school and junior high were the same thing for me.

Tsu_na_mi@reddit

It varies by district, but I think mostly it's 3 schools -- Elementary, Middle School/Jr High, and High School. I have mostly seen Middle be grades 6-8, with HS 9-12, and Jr High 7-9 with HS 10-12. Mine was Elementary->Middle->HS.

I think some areas with short 4-step schools are mostly victims of growth where the town outgrew the school. Instead of building a large new school to accommodate everyone, they built a smaller new one and just split the grades between the two.

[-]

TalkShitGetWitt@reddit

I would argue in a sense there are four schools:

Preschool or daycare.
Elementary School (K-5th Grade)
Middle School (6-8th grade)
High School (9-12th grade)

[-]

Head_Razzmatazz7174@reddit

Kindergarten was a separate school when I was growing up.

So I went to four schools, kindergarten, elementary, junior high (or middle school, they mean the same thing) and then high school.

My kids went to a large school district where there was a separate building for the 9th graders (freshman).

[-]

RemonterLeTemps@reddit

No, in Chicago most kids go to one 'grammar' school from kindergarten to 8th grade. Then, after graduation, they spend four years at a high school. While the 'junior high' concept was attempted here in the late 1920s, it was eliminated as being too expensive to maintain during the Depression, and the schools that had already been built converted to small high schools around 1933 (I attended one in the later 1970s).

Things might be changing, though. My grammar school (built in the Victorian era), now only accommodates grades 6-8, while the younger kids go to a modern school built about ten years ago. (The two schools are designated Eugene Field and New Field.) But from there all graduates still go to Roger C. Sullivan High School, my 'alma mater', which will turn 100 this year.

TBH, there are barely enough kids to fill the two grammar schools, because many families now have only one or two, and the immigrant wave (that had more) has now passed. I suspect at some point, this means all the K-8 students will go to New Field, and the old school will be converted to housing or some other purpose.

[-]

Tuerai@reddit

I was caught in the middle of them changing how it worked and did: elementary: K-4 intermediate: 5 middle: 6-8 high: 9-12

because my elementary school didn't have room for 5th grade yet.

[-]

James-robinsontj@reddit

I went to elementary k-6 Jr. high: 7-9 Sr. High 10-12

The school district later changed it after graduated to Elementary k-5 Middle: 6-8 High: 9-12

[-]

maxxjazz44@reddit

My school system has 4. They are K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

[-]

enancejividen@reddit

I grew up with primary (k-2), elementary (3-5), middle (6-8) and high school (9-12).

Then I moved to a district with elementary (k-6), Junior high (7-9), and high school (10-12). I think they have since moved to K-5, 6-8, 9-12 and changed junior high to middle school.

It really depends on the district.

[-]

aracauna@reddit

My home county sends all kids to the same schools so they actually have the pre-K building (that also houses the alternative school), the Primary School (K-2), Elementary school (3-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12). This is not uncommon for the really rural school systems because it's cheaper to run fewer buildings and the entire county only has around 700 high school aged kids.

In metro Atlanta, they tend to have lots of smaller elementary schools so it's usually Elementary (prek-5), middle (6-8) and high (9-10).

Pre-K is public education, but is optional.

In the 80s my school system was elementary, middle, junior high and high (same grade bands as earlier) and then after I got to go to Junior High for one year in sixth grade they switched to the middle school system and I spent 7th grade mad about having to "go back" to middle school. I was also mad about being a 7th grader because that is just a sucky year for most people.

[-]

21stNow@reddit

This is a question of where and when. I'm older than most redditors and in Atlanta. I went to elementary (K-7) and high school (8-12) only. Atlanta was transitioning to elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high (9-12) during the time when I was in school, so students in other parts of town who are my age and even older went to three schools.

[-]

ShowerOk8103@reddit

I went k-8, then 9-12. My husband went k-5, 6-8, then 9-12.

A school district in my state has PreK-k, 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.

Some kids go k-12

It depends on the school set up—tiny private schools vs public

Depends on the size of the district and size of school buildings.

My kids go k-8, but it’s a rare thing for public school. My son has also switched schools a lot until we got here due to other reasons.

[-]

Ludwigthemadking@reddit

I went to one school, K-12, which I later found out is pretty unusual in the US. Most people go to three. One for elementary, one for middle school, and one for highschool.

[-]

tex8222@reddit

Could be far more than 4 if you count switching schools due to moving or redistricting.

I attended ten different achools and my family didn’t even move that often.

[-]

Super depends on the district. When I was a kid, my large urban public system went: Kindergarten => 5th as elementary school, 6th->8th as middle school, then 9-12 as high school. There were a few that did Kinder=>8th then 9th=>12th, but they were outliers. Then the school district reworked itself in to a PreK=>8th system and closed a lot of school buildings (ugly, but necessary due to declining student population and aging facilities), and now they're going *back* to the PreK=>5, 6=>8, 9=>12 model, with even more closings.

[-]

manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit

There's an age overlap between middle school and junior high school. Kids go to one or the other, depending on how the education system in their school district is set up.

[-]

LongOrganization7838@reddit

I had k-6,in one school 7-8, in another school and 9-12, in a third

[-]

arcteryx17@reddit

I have lived in 3 states while attending school. All three states were the same for the most part. The standard in Elementary (k-5), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12).

There are school districts that vary a little but it is not the norm

[-]

Batgirl_III@reddit

This will depend a great deal upon the population of the school district the student lives in. The denser the population, the more likely they are to have to attend multiple schools.

I was born and raised in a very small, very rural county in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In the entire county, there are only five schools. Two serve K-5, one serves K-8, and the fifth serves 6-12. When I was a kid, that fifth one was K-12. Had my mum not taken a job overseas when I was due to start eighth grade, it’s quite likely I’d have done K-12 without ever leaving that building.

(There are also two schools on the nearby reservation, K-8 and 9-12, but enrollment is restricted.)

Compare and contrast this to my daughter’s school district here in Portland Oregon. There are half as many students in her high school than my home county has in total population. Portland Public Schools operates something like 80 different schools, most on a K-5 or K-8, 6-8, 9-12 breakdown. With a couple of exceptions for magnate schools, dual language schools, and the trade schools.

[-]

TempAcct724@reddit

Most common is elementary school K-5 or 6, then middle school is year 6-8 or 9, then high school is 9/10 to 12.

But there are plenty of variation. My closest elementary school to my house is K-8 then straight into high school.

citrusbook@reddit

I did. Elementary, Middle School for one year, Jr High for two, and then High School for five.

[-]

Icy-Blacksmith-313@reddit

That is correct, unless you live in a small town or small county. Most public systems are: K-4 5-6 7-8 9-12

In New England where towns are smaller/small I've also heard of: K-5 6-7-8 9-12

In private schools in my town it's: K-8 9-12

[-]

YoshiandAims@reddit

A lot of them do. Others middle/high school is combined in one building. It varies.

Roughly:

Preschool/headstart (3-5) (some do not go to this)

Elementary (5- 12)

Middle school (12-14)

High school (14-18/19) (Sometimes they'll go to technical school/trade school during high school, sometimes they can take college courses in high school, both of which happen at different locations.)

College/trade school(18++)

[-]

Exotic-Lecture6631@reddit

Minimum 3, K-5, 6-8, 9-12. But it only goes upwards from there. Theres college (both 2 year and 4), apparently junior high as a weird addition (never heard of that before) and of course families move changing your school. I did k-1, 1-start of 5, the rest of 5, 6-8, 9-12, and concurrent with 11 and 12 my 2 years at a community college, then finished my degree at a 4 year college. And if its ever possible may go back and get masters/PHD at likely yet another school.

[-]

No-Contact6664@reddit

The most common is 3 schools. Elementary, Middle, High.

However some school districts juggle their buildings differently. My kid when to one district that had K-2 at one building and then moved 3-5 to a newer one.

[-]

Chemical-Actuary683@reddit

Kindergarten to 8th Grade and then High School is still common in rural areas. I remember being a kindergarten and walking past the seventh and eighth graders in the hallway and feeling absolutely dwarfed by them.

[-]

EulerIdentity@reddit

I think grades 1 to 6 are one school and 7 to 12 are another school, regardless of what you call it.

[-]

Potential_Fishing942@reddit

We had elementary k-4. Lower middle school 5-6. Upper middle school 7-8. And HS 9-12.

[-]

Soggy-Attempt@reddit

3-4 is very common. It depends how big the town/city is.

[-]

Objection_Irrelevant@reddit

I went to private school, so my preschool classroom was about 200 yards from my 12th grade classes. But if I’d done public school, I would have gone to a lower elementary (K-2), upper elementary (3-5), middle school (6-8), 9th grade only school, and high school (10-12).

Granted the lower and upper elementary were right next to each other but operated completely separately due to their size.

[-]

IDunnoWhatToPutHereI@reddit

I did K-6 for elementary, 7-8 middle school/Jr high, and 9-12 high school. My daughter did K-4 elementary, 5-8 middle, 9-12 high school.

[-]

curlyhairweirdo@reddit

Middle school and junior high are the same thing but many districts have what's called an intermediate school. You have primary/elementary for pre-k (3-4 year olds) through 5th grade, then middle school/ junior highschool is 6-8th grade, last high school is 9-12th grade.

But some places have primary school which is pre-k through 4th grad, then intermediate/elementary school for 5th and 6th, followed by middle school/junior high for 7th and 8th, then lastly high school for 9-12. However many schools break high school up into 9th grade campus and the rest of high school campus.

I moved around a lot as a kid. I went to 4 middle schools/junior highs and they were all 6-8. I believe that most of the time, it's 3 schools, but that varies by state and then by school district. My husband has 4 schools here in WA for example.

[-]

It varies depending on area. I just went to two, K-8th then high school

[-]

FormalWaters@reddit

My brother that has a significant age difference from me went to a school that was Kindergarten through 12th grade all in one school.

[-]

typefiasco@reddit

I did primary, elementary, middle, and high school

[-]

steadyrabbit87@reddit

It depends on the area. Most yes, will go to 3 different schools, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. But some areas go K-6 or K-8, I even knew kids who went K-12 in the same building.

[-]

There’s no national model, but 3 schools is typical. More schools than that is more likely due to the town breaking up the youngest grades into different schools now. A junior high model was something they were transitioning away from 35 year ago when I was there. Middle school was the term used to replace how they organized the school when they adjusted the grades sent there and adjusted how they went about teaching as a result (the oldest kids’ days were still organized as if they were in high school to prepare them for high school, but the younger kids’ days had a hybrid feel where they switched every class but stayed together in the same group all day long).

Very small towns up here may just have two schools; K-6 and 7-12.

[-]

MyLadyScribbler@reddit

It varies from state to state and school district to school district, TBH. In most places, the breakdown is usually elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high (9-12). But in one town near me, they have two lower elementary schools for grades K-2, and then upper elementary for 3-6, and then for grade 7 onward it's the high school building.

[-]

Chicken-WeakBird@reddit

Despite going to four American schools, I never learned how to find Australasia on a map.

[-]

IWasGoatbeardFirst@reddit

In FL it is 3 schools: elementary K-5, middle 6-8, high 9-12

[-]

bericbenemein@reddit

My school district had 4 buildings but it was a scale thing, one of the buildings was made later as the town grew.

K-2 - Primary 3-5 - Elementary 6-8 - Middle 9-12 - High

My son has 3 buildings K-5 - Elementary 6-8 - Middle 9-12 - High

[-]

Scootergirl100@reddit

Here we have elementary or grade school which is K-5, then middle school or junior high which is 6-8, then high school which is 9-12. Most have 3 different buildings, but in smaller towns elementary and middle school classes may be in one building.

[-]

SamsterDragon@reddit

for a time my area had an “intermediate school”, 5th and 6th grade, then middle school for 7th and 8th. the intermediate school closed down and the building got absorbed into the high school right next to it, and the middle school was demolished and rebuilt to include enough classrooms for 6th grade.

[-]

No_Cartographer5955@reddit

I went to three. Kindergarten - 5th grade was elementary, 6-8th grade was junior high, and 9-12th was high school.

[-]

nous-vibrons@reddit

There’s different configurations for different schools. Here’s how a few in my area went.

My school: Elementary K-4, Middle 5-8, High 9-12. Two schools in my area go Elementary K-4, Intermediate 5-6, Middle 7-8, High 9-12. Most do Elementary K-5, Middle 6-8, High 9-12. Another does Elementary K-6, Junior High 7-8, High 9-12.

From what I’ve seen historically from looking at yearbooks and such, the last model I mentioned used to be the more common configuration in the past. My school district actually used to do it until the 1970s, and that’s when they built the middle school, ending the “junior” section of the “junior-senior” Hish School building. I think middle school is a newer concept as junior high, but they conceptually serve the same purpose, usually. But in my experience most junior highs don’t go down to sixth grade unless they were an older junior high that expanded and didn’t change to being a middle school in name.

[-]

thelordstrum@reddit

I went to three, but for a period it looked like I was going to go to four.

My district had separate primary and elementary schools, and you'd swap in either second or third grade between the two. But then they both added the grades they were missing and everyone just went to one. Which miffed me as a kid but never mind that.

[-]

Dizzy-Interview-4438@reddit

it depends on area. i’m from a small town so i only went to two. Grade school for Pre-K through 8th grade and high school. Some other schools in the area are K-12 so they would only have one.

[-]

dallen@reddit

Like most things in a place as big as the US, it depends. But most common is three: elementary, middle or junior high, and then high school. Some places might have all 4 though. Some places just have elementary and high school. And some only have a single school for k-12. My area has 3 right now, but the high school freshmen are mostly kept separate from the rest of the school so it wouldn't surprise me if we go to 6-7 for middle and 8-9 for junior high in the future.

[-]

seifd@reddit

It depends on the place. For most places, it's just three, you have either a junior high school or middle school. Junior high is the older term, derived from the fact that junior high students used to be part of the high school, and typically has students from 7th–9th grade (about 12–15 years old). Middle school is the newer term and typically has students 6th–8th grade (11–14 years old).

However, there are exceptions. Some places have both an middle school and junior high school. Some places have a combined middle-high school.

[-]

fried_clams@reddit

We had elementary k-4, intermediate 5-6, Junior high 7-8 and high school.

I think this was because the student population got larger, before they were able to increase the size of buildings or build a new school . They reopened the old high school and made it 5 -6, to make enough room in elementary and junior high.

Middle school and junior high are two names for the same thing. Elementary is grades K-5 or K-6, depending on the school district. Middle school/junior high is 6-8 or 7-8. High school is 9-12.

Kindergarten starts around age 5 (plus or minus, depending on the school district's cutoff date and the child's birthday), and high school ends at age 17-18.

The whole system is very much not centralized, so states and school districts have different setups, but that's a good general idea.

[-]

revocer@reddit

It may differ slightly depending on school district:

Elementary: Kindergarten - 6th Grade

Middle School / Junior High School - 7th & 8th Grade

High School - 9th - 12th

There is an option prior to Elementary School for Pre-School and Pre-Kindergarten.

[-]

UnderstandingDry4072@reddit

There’s a lot of variation by region and area population. Lots of people have mentioned 3-4, but the rural area I grew up in has only two: kindergarten-6th, and 7th-12th.

[-]

bmsa131@reddit

Mostly 3. Elementary, and then either middle or junior high, and then hs

[-]

Top-Friendship4888@reddit

In my area, middle school and junior high usually refer to the same thing, maybe with the grade cutoffs shifted by a year. So kids will attend one or the other, but not typically both.

It's also becoming very common here for elementary to be split into 2 different schools, with separate "k-2" and "3-5" buildings.

I live in a densely populated area, so high enrollment is responsible for the split.

[-]

wrigh516@reddit

Depends on the population. Small towns have K-12 in one building. That's how I grew up. Cities have 3 different schools.

[-]

nwbrown@reddit

So first of all, keep in mind that especially when it comes to education, the US is probably better thought of as 50 different countries. And even within each state, each district is different, and even within a district there is variability within schools (my district growing up had several 7-12 high schools). And that's not even taking in account private and charter schools. But this is probably a common structure:

Pre-K, ages 3-4: usually either private or run by a religious institution.
Elementary School, grades K-6: the earliest public schooling. Generally a single classroom throughout the day, subjects are mixed together. There might be a few classes like gym and art that have separate teachers but the class is usually together for those.
Middle School/Jr High, grades 7-8: the day is split between 7 classes, such as 5 core classes and 2 electives. Students move between classes and have different classmates for each one, though since a lot of classes are shared you have a lot of the same classmates in each one.
High School, grades 9-12. Seven classes and while there are a set of required classes, there are more options for electives. School also starts very early because lots of students also have after school programs such as sports.

[-]

NarrowAd4973@reddit

Elementary, middle, and high schools are typical. From what I can tell, a fourth school is used if there isn't enough room for an increase in the number of students, and expanding the existing schools isn't an option (typically because there's no room for them to expand).

My sister and I have almost a 12 year age gap, and my parents moved when I graduated high school, so we essentially went to school in different districts. Where I went had four elementary schools covering kindergarten to 6th, middle school with 7th and 8th, and then high school for 9th to 12th.

Hers had elementary, intermediate, middle (or junior high, not sure, and also not sure if it was before or after intermediate) and high school. I don't know how the grades were partitioned. The intermediate school was built because the district had a huge population boom within only a few years, needed more space, but didn't have room to expand the existing buildings. But after all the kids that came with that boom grew up, many moved out of the area, so the number of students significantly decreased. I think one of the buildings was closed down as a result.

[-]

Depends on your district

The one I grew up in had elementary (K-4 ~5yo-10yo), intermediate (5-6 ~10yo-12yo), middle (7-8 ~12yo-14yo), and high (9-12 ~14yo-18yo).

The district my kids are in has elementary (K-5), middle (6-8), and high (9-12)

[-]

SenseNo635@reddit

I went to three: elementary K-6; middle school 7-8; high school 9-12.

[-]

Draconuus95@reddit

3 is the usual. Elementary(pre-k to 5), middle/junior high(6-8, and high school(9-12).

There is a decent amount of fluctuation with that though. Really small towns may just have 1 or 2 schools. Some districts have elementary last through 6th. Sometimes they split it up into 4 schools. Our education system can vary a decent amount from state to state or even district to district. Heck. Even within a district it’s not always uniform if you’re going to specialty schools.

But ya. The majority of people went through the standard 3 school system.

[-]

Reasonable_Mood_5260@reddit

Education in the United States is 90 percent governed locally. Each district has unique challenges with population density and real estate prices and budget.

[-]

Sevenbucksbetter@reddit

In Washington I went to four schools. Elementary was K-5, middle school was 6-7, junior high was 8-9, and high school was 10-12

[-]

Romirose86@reddit

I only had 2. K-6 and 7-12.

[-]

tcrhs@reddit

I went to six. Our elementary schools were broken up into three. Then, junior high, then high school.

We don’t have a centralized school system. Every local school district is different.

[-]

machagogo@reddit

I went to 3. Kindergarten in one school. (The school my parents wanted to send me to did not offer kindergarten) Then 1st through 8th. Then high school.

My kids went to four. K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.
As my town population grew they built a new high school, moved the two middle schools into one at the old high school, split the elementary schools that had been k-5 into smaller schools using what used to be the middle schools to do so.

The idea of separating is that the needs of a 5 year old are far different than those of a 14 year old.

[-]

LankyJeep@reddit

Most common amount of schools to attend before college is 3 schools. grades K-5 is elementary school, 6-8 is middle school (junior high), and 9-12 is High School. There are some instances where towns have a K-8 and HS or a K-5 then a 6-12, but those are usually only in rural communities. I’ve heard of very rural areas having a full K-12 in one building but I don’t know if that is still a thing anywhere in the country.

[-]

Cameront9@reddit

This will vary widely by region and age of the person. For me, age 43, elementary was 1-6, junior high was 7-9, and high school was 10-12.

[-]

Particular_Golf_6065@reddit

I went to elementary school (kindergarten-3), intermediate school (4-5), middle school (6-8), and high school in my town in the 90’s, my husband grew up 30min from my town and went to a k-6 school, then middle school, then high school. My kids are in a k-8 school in a different state, and will eventually go to the county high school. It’s so different depending on where you live.

[-]

Ornery-Bit-8169@reddit

I went to three. Elementary (grades K-5), Middle school (grades 6-8), and High school (grades 9-12). I grew up in a small town with its own school district, so I had all the same kids in my class (barring some families moving to the area and others moving away) for the entirety of my compulsory education. Though in the time and place I went to school, it was only compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, which was 1st-10th grade for most people.

But the grades in each level can vary, I think largely depending on the culture of the region you're in, the number of students, and what resources are available in terms of buildings/teachers. When I was in 11th grade, a new high school was built and the old high school building turned into the middle school (the old middle school, which was on the other side of town, became a community center). Since the new middle school had more space available and the elementary was getting overcrowded (they had to use portable classrooms), middle school became grades 5-8.

The norm for most is 3. One elementary, one middle, and one high school.

I count six for me, but there’s a special case:

A privately-run nursery school (what we’d call pre-K today) that I hated so much my parents finally stopped sending me.
A church-run kindergarten, since our public schools weren’t offering kindergarten yet.
First through the first couple of months of third grade at one elementary school, then my family moved.
The rest of third through fifth grade at another elementary school
6-8 at middle school
9-12 in high school

My parents have expressed some regret for moving me to a different school in third grade, since the kids there were very cliquish already and I had trouble making friends. My brother and sister were younger, spent all twelve grades in the same schools, and didn’t have the same problem. (I was also the youngest in my class since I had started first grade a year earlier than I probably should have — I was a bright child and my parents wanted me in first grade early.)

Typically, grade (elementary) school is kindergarten to 5th grade.

Then middle school (junior high) is 6th grade through 8th grade.

Then high school is 9th grade through 12th grade.

[-]

Wastedgent@reddit

In our area we have Primary (1-3), Elementary(4-6), Middle(7-8), and High School(9-12).

[-]

SabresBills69@reddit

most school districts have 3

elementary kindergarten - 4 th/5th/6th grades

middle/ junior this is some combination of grades 5-9such as 7-8,7-9,6-9,6-8,5-8

high school many are 9-12 some are 10-12

some schools and catholic schools have a K-8 school

you might have 4 schools if school districts want to consolidate. the school district I went to had 4 K-6, one 7-8, and 1 high school . when my younger sister went through they change the 4 K-6 Elementary schoolers to 2 K-3 and 2 4-6 schools. because of enrollment drop they consolidated high school into a 7-12 school where 7-8 grade are its own wing and operate on different schedules. the only shared space are the auditorium and gyms ( 2 gyms) and lunch area

I lived in a lot of states as my dad was Army. Most places I lived had K-5, 6-8, then 9-12. One place did K-6, 7-9, then 10-12.

[-]

pikkdogs@reddit

As far as if they are different buildings, that depends on the town. When I grew up there were just two different buildings. Now that towns has 1 building and where I live now has 3 different buildings.

Generally it’s elementary PK-5, junior high: 6-8, high school: 9-12. And sometimes high school is broken up to junior high and senior high. But those are mostly arbitrary divisions, they don’t mean anything.

[-]

Ok-Entertainment5045@reddit

Our middle school and jr high are in the same building but separated by some double doors

[-]

GrammarLyfe@reddit

I went to 5

[-]

acorpcop@reddit

Yes, and also no u/snailquestions

The core of the "why" in the question comes how local government is organized and operated in the US. Refer to the 10th Amendment in the Constitution.

It's kind of confusing to non-Americans how things theoretically and actually work in the US. Things are supposed to work from the bottom up in what is supposed to be a federation style government. States generally mirror this pattern set by the federal government. 50 states under one federal government, a state with however many counties under the state government. The level of the government that most people interact with the most, aside from the IRS making sure your taxes and social security is withheld from your pay check, is local government. Local government usually handles police, fire, schools, emergency medical, social services, roads, streets, trash etc. School districts are generally organized by county in the US, sometimes rarely they can be consolidated, or there can be multiple ones in a county.

Your kid's education is delivered by your local school district, who is supposed to implement the standards set by the state, who is supposed to work under guidance from the federal government. What actually happens can vary widely from one side of the country to the other.

Four different physical buildings, yes. Kindergarten in one school building. 1st-5th grade at another, 6th-8th at the district middle school, 9th-12th at the district high school. Same school district the entire time. So, technically yes, but also no because it was in the same school district and therefore there was a shared curriculum and organization.

3 is more common.

But there are lots of variations, too. Sometimes things get switched up due to crowding or other issues. In my area we have elementary schools (K-4, K-5, or can be K-6 but that’s kinda old fashioned), Intermediate Schools (5-6), Middle Schools (6-8), a couple of “9th Grade Centers” (which are exactly what they sound like), and High School (can be 9-12 or 10-12). I don’t know of any Jr High schools (7-9) in the area but it wouldn’t surprise me.

From 4/5-18 typically in Oklahoma and the surrounding states there tends to be 3 levels in public or ISD district (Texas). From my experience though middle school grades 6-8 sometimes only 7-8 at least always share a campus if not building with a high school. I personally wouldn’t consider them to be different schools as long as you stay in the same district even though more times than not they’ll have different in-house admin, but share a School board and superintendent.

When I was growing up in PA middle school and Jr. high were the same thing. My kids are going to school, in NY, and they are 2 different schools with different grades. This could be just that there’s more people or just different districts are different.

Unlucky_Let5103@reddit

I think it depends on your age. I grew up in the late 80s and 90s. During that time it was 1-4 Elementary, 5-6 Middle, 7-8 Junior High, 9-12 High School. I think the reasoning was developmental stages during those ages were closer together and similar making it easier for transitioning and learning.

[-]

CSI_Shorty09@reddit

I had 4 schools

Elementary was K-2 Intermediate was 3-5 Middle was 6-8 High school was 9-12

[-]

Akito_900@reddit

Usually 3 or 4. I personally went to 4, which I think was somewhat uncommon. Elementary (K-2), Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12).

[-]

MortgageOdd2001@reddit

Some kids go to two. In Chicago it’s common to go to elementary (preschool-8th grade) and high school (9th-12th grade).

Some private schools are preschool-12th grade (I went to one).

[-]

[-]

madogvelkor@reddit

[-]

Capable_Stranger9885@reddit

I had 3, K-5 elementary, 6-8 middle and 9-12 high. My daughter's neighborhood school is a K-8 though we may apply to transfer into a magnet school at middle school age. If we do nothing she will have 2 schools.

[-]

MergedBog@reddit

Here the kids have primary elementary (pk-2) intermediate elementary (3-5), middle school then high school

[-]

Pitiable-Crescendo@reddit

For me it was elementary, middle and high school.

[-]

designsbyintegra@reddit

Our district had k-5 6-8 is middle school 9-12 is high school

When I was in school the middle school was attached to the high school. That was in the late 80s, early 90s.

It now has its own building because parents were not happy that the middle schoolers could possibly interact with high school students.

[-]

Possible_Juice_3170@reddit

Our district has a prek-2 building, 3-5, 6-8, and HS. So yes 4 buildings but all the same students (plus/minus students who move).

[-]

ryamanalinda@reddit

I went to college for secondary in a smallish town (10,000 people). Since I wasn't doing elementary education, I don't know the exact grades, or the amount of elementary schools, but they had like kindergarten and third graders at one school. 1st and 4th in another 2nd and 5th in another, maybe a middle school and also a high school. That was 30byears ago, so don't know if it has been changed.

[-]

teriKatty@reddit

Here they recently changed it. Primary for pre k-2nd, intermediate is 3-5, middle is 6-8, and high is 9-12. When I was growing up it was k-5 was elementary. Then middle and high.

[-]

Less_Ability_5721@reddit

Depends on the school district. The town I grew up in had one school district and one set of schools but to make all the kids fit into one building, each building only had a couple of grades.

One was k-2, one 3-4,. We called these both elementary.

The next had grades 5-6. That was middle school.

Jr high was 7-9.

High School was 10-12.

So, it was the same school district but 5 different buildings. My senior year, they built a brand new high school, big enough to hold grades 9-12, and we moved into that over Christmas.

[-]

Standard-Outcome9881@reddit

I went to kindergarten at one school (which then closed), then 1st to 8th grade in a different school for all 8 years, and then high school at another school. My grade school had nothing but grades 1-8. My high school had grades 7, 8 and then freshman, sophomore, junior and senior levels.

[-]

Ok-Preparation-9974@reddit

Depends on community size. My county only has 2 for all 12 grades. Splits at 7th grade.

[-]

sleepypossumster@reddit

In the district where my kid attended school, there were 5 different levels: elementary (K - 4), intermediate (5 & 6), middle (7 & 8), freshman academy (9 only), and high school (10 - 12).

[-]

Bird_Watcher1234@reddit

I went to an elementary school from Kindergarten through 6th grade. I went to a middle school for 7th grade only. I went to a junior high school for 8-9 grades and a high school for 10-12. Those were public schools. Most private schools here cover all grades.

Tampa, Florida

[-]

Vast-Combination4046@reddit

It's not so much that it's 4 distinct buildings as much as 4 age ranges that tend to be separate buildings but it's mostly up to the town to organize that.

In my area you have preschool for ages 3 and 4. You have elementary school for k-6 middle school is 7-8. Highschool 9-12.

[-]

chaosrulz0310@reddit

When I was in school yes we went to 4 schools. Now with my kids it’s 3. For me it was

Elementary K-4 Middle 5-6 Jr High 7-8 High 9-12

By the time my kids got to school 5th had moved to elementary, 6-8 combined as middle and highschool was still 9th-12.

[-]

RickySlayer9@reddit

A typical American will go to from 1-5 different possible schools

And then college (university) which is 1-2 schools.

Preschool

Kindergarten

1-6th grades

7-8th grades (middle school)

I went through two different School levels.

1-8 At a Catholic parochial School and then high School level which was actually split between two different schools but that's because I got drummed out of one and had to go to another.

[-]

shit-Helicopter@reddit

Depends on where you live. My school was 1 to 8 and 9 to 12..so ii went to two and then college or university which was 4 years. Separately I did a masters in another college a few years later

[-]

InteractionStunning8@reddit

We actually had 5. K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Our town really needed two or three elementary schools but decided to do this instead which was a little odd.

[-]

ProposalCalm8231@reddit

In one state I was in it was K-6, 7-9, 10-12. In another state it was K-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12. That wasn’t statewide, it could vary within the state.

Both of them were in districts that are constantly lauded as top public schools.

[-]

Due-Garage4146@reddit

For me, it was just 2. I grew up in VA, about 15 minutes drive from DC. It was grades K-8. Then high school grades 9-12. K-8 had two separate buildings. One for grades K-5 and across the parking lot it was grades 6-8. Every area, city, county, state, etc. is different.

[-]

LastCookie3448@reddit

Three, elementary, middle, and high. They pretty much stopped calling it Jr High with the Millennials.

[-]

Every state has their own way of structuring primary and secondary education. Even further, this may differ from county to county, and even school district to school district.

GENERALLY SPEAKING:

Elementary school is grades kindergarten through grades 5 or 6.
If the district has a middle school format, the middle school will be grades 6-8
If the district has a junior high format, the junior high will be grades 7-9
Depending on how middle school is structuring in that district, the high school will begin with either grades 9 or 10, through 12th grade.

Texas was K-6, 7-8, 9 was completely separate, and 10-12 was the High School!

The US is weird!

[-]

Kinetic_Silverwolf@reddit

Due to a combination of my father being in the military, and me living somewhere that separated elementary school age children into different schools every two years. I attended 2 Kindergartens, 1 Primary School, 1 Elementary School, 1 Intermediate School, 1 Middle School, and 2 High Schools before graduating grade school.

8 schools in 13 years, and I was stable compared to some of my fellow military brat friends.

[-]

swake3@reddit

Middle School and Jr High are two different terms for the same thing. Middle School is more modern.

The suburban district my kids went has a lot of schools over 14 grades. They attended an Elementary, Pre-K to 4th grade, then an Upper Elementary for 5th and 6th grades. Then Middle School for 7th and 8th grades. Then Freshman Academy for 9th grade, which is on the High School campus but in a separate building. Lastly High School. The high school is a full college style campus with many buildings and stadiums for 3,800 students in 10th to 12th grades. 5 schools in 14 years from 4 years old to 18.

Sometimes Elementary includes Kindergarten, sometimes that is separate also.

Add in nursery school or pre-K, which not everyone goes to - you can start in Kindergarten, nursery school is for families that need day care before their kid is old enough for Kindergarten and/or want their kid to get some prep for kindergarten - but add it in, and you could go to as many as 5 schools before university, without ever moving.

[-]

J0J0388@reddit

We had a lot of students in my grade so we went elementary to Upper elementary(5th) then middle school (6-8) then high school.

[-]

uruiamme@reddit

Well, maybe more nowadays. There is a pre-K, or as we called it, preschool. Elementary, 5-6 grades. Junior High (sometimes, generally 2 grades) and its variant: Middle School (usually 3 grades), then High School is 3 or 4 grades.

So most people go to 3 different schools, but it could be 4 (uncommon) or 5 (uncommon+preschool)

So the count was:

2 schools (a & b) in city #1

3 schools in city #2 (c, d, e)

1 school in city #3 (f)

Total for grades K-12 = 6 schools in 3 cities in 2 states.

By the time I graduated I was quite accustomed to transferring from school to school.

NSandCSXRailfan@reddit

My school Corp was a bit different than others. We had Kindergarten, Elementary (1, 2) Intermediate (3-5), Middle (6-8), and High (9-12).

[-]

MissAnthropist20@reddit

It really depends on the town/school district. I live in a small rural town & when I was in school, we had 5.

We had both an elementary & primary, except elementary was kg-5th & primary was kg-4th. It depended on which part of town you lived in which school you went to. The kids from the primary school who were going into 5th got sent to the elementary school.

Middle school was 6th-7th grade

Jr. High was 8th-9th grade

High School was 10th-12th

Now it’s all different because we eventually built an intermediate school after I had graduated. Currently its now

Elementary/Primary(both now kg-4th), Intermediate, Jr High, & High School.

[-]

Manic_Monday_2009@reddit

Middle school and Jr. High are the same thing. American kids go to 3 schools, elementary, middle, and high school.

In rural areas sometimes 2 of the 3, or even all 3, will be housed in the same building:

[-]

huskeya4@reddit

Something I don’t really see people mentioning here: the schools may be named something else, they may not be near each other, but they are all the same school district. Unless you decide to change districts, you are going to the same school as all your classmates, just the location of the school may change. This often has to do with school sizes. You aren’t registering for a new school really, you’re just continuing on to new buildings (which may not be near your old buildings).

My grandpa went to my elementary school when it was a single room classroom for the entire town. All the kids, regardless of their grade were in the same classroom. Eventually the town had so many kids they knocked the building down and split them into classrooms by elementary, junior, middle, and high school classes. Town got bigger, more kids were going to school, and the building wasn’t that old. So they called the neighbor town and asked how their school was doing. Same situation so they decided to send all the middle and high schoolers to the neighbor town and take all the neighbors elementary and junior school students. Meanwhile, the neighbor town started building a middle school nearby since they had a big lot for it. Eventually we had all four schools but the junior high was converted into special education right before I went to it. Our student populations had dropped and it wasn’t really needed anymore.

Bigger cities have multiple high schools in them but some might be private schools. Not all the schools are part of the same district so they’ll have different teaching methods. I think where you live in the city decides where you’ll go to school. I grew up in a small town so I stayed in the same district throughout my education. I graduated with some of the kids I also went to kindergarten with. I also knew every kid in my grade since there were only 82 of us. We actually had students from 4 towns go to our school but one of those towns finished rebuilding their high school (tornado takes it out every few decades or so) when I was in elementary school which is why our junior high was converted back to special education. We just didn’t need four school buildings once those students returned to their school. The middle, junior, and high school were all pretty close to each other as the town designated a much larger lot to them decades ago. The elementary school is in a neighboring town because that was the original school lot for both towns but the town built around it and there was nowhere for them to expand into unless they built on their recess fields.

[-]

General_Reading_798@reddit

There is no national standard, each state has significant control over how they choose to organize schools, that's part of the reason for the differences you are seeing in the responses.

[-]

Select_Secretary6709@reddit

Elementary school K through 8th grade and HS 9th through 12th

[-]

Elendril333@reddit

Where I live: Preschool is optional for 4 year olds and is half a day M-F. Elementary School starts at age 5 for kindergarten (half day) and goes to grade 6. Middle School was grade 7 and 8. High School was grade 9 through 12.

Some middle schools are grade 6-8, rarely grade 7-9.

[-]

WhatAmIDoingHere05@reddit

I went to elementary school from grades K-5 (usually ages 5/6 is when kids traditionally start school), middle school from 6-8, and high school was 9-12.

[-]

toxicjellyfish666@reddit

I had Elementary : K- 5

Middle School : 6-8

School districts may divide grade levels differently. I went to elementary school (grades 1-6), junior high (7-8) and high school (9-12).

It depends on the district, state, etc. As with anything, your experience in America will vary greatly.

I went to 5 different schools because what used to be a K-6 was closed and students were split by grade level into upper and lower elementary schools. So now, in my area, since around 2005 or so, typically it is 4 schools that kids go to.

You'll get a variety of answers. Some areas have kindergarten, elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools.

Personally, I went to three. Kindergarten, grade school (1-8 grade), and high school (9-12). I'd probably have gone to just two if my grade school had a kindergarten at the time.

[-]

Hitthereset@reddit

Depends on the districts... Had I stayed where I was born it would've been K-5, 6-8, 9-12. Where we live now is K-8 then 9-12. There are other permutations as well but these two have been the most common I've seen.

[-]

phishphood17@reddit

I went to a preschool, different pre-K, kindergarten, different elementary, junior high (just 7/8th), and high school. In California for context. So yeah not uncommon.

[-]

AccurateAlps9333@reddit

If you count preschool but preschool isnt legally required. Legally you are only required to attend 1st-12th grade, even kindergarten isn’t required in California though in some other states it’s is.

[-]

boodyclap@reddit

Elementary, middle and highschool for me

It just depends on the amount of students/size of the school district, and just how it's set up. I went to four different schools: Elementary (1-4), Intermediate (5-6), Middle (7-8), and High (9-12).

I know someone who went to a school in a town 75 miles away where there was a single school campus 1-12 they went to the entire time.

[-]

Filippo_G@reddit

I went to five.

Montessori school (pre-school) ages 3-4 then kindergarten Primary school grades 1-2 Elementary school grades 3-5 Middle school grades 6-8 High school grades 9-12

[-]

OrganizationSouth481@reddit

We had elementary school (K-3), intermediate school (4-5), middle school/ junior high (6-8), and high school (9-12).

There are schools and districts that do this differently though. I know areas that do not have an intermediate school. I also know areas that do k-12 in one building. Population size and size of the classes is a big factor.

[-]

hikarizx@reddit

It depends on how it’s structured where you live. As the needs of a particular town/city change they might shift the student population around. I would guess the most typical is elementary, middle/jr high, then high. Some places have elementary split into two (for example k-2 in one school and 3-5 in another). Some middle schools are 7-8 grade and some are 6-8.

Really small towns or private schools sometimes just have one school for k-12.

[-]

Cecowen@reddit

If my family hadn't moved the summer before 3rd grade, I would've had K-6 at one school.
After moving, the school sequence was K, 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9, 10-12. In the 70's, the high school was overcrowded and they built another school on the other side of town just for Freshmen (9). A few years after I graduated, they built onto the newer school and demolished the old high school. Now it's 9-12 in one place again.

[-]

KaBar42@reddit

ve heard of elementary school, middle school, junior high and high school.

Let's define grade ranges.

Elementary: Pre-K, Kindergarten and grades 1 to 5

Middle/JR. High: Grades 6 to 8

High school: Grades 9 to 12

In my experience, Catholic schools typically combine elementary and middle schools. So you have as young as Pre-K to as old as eighth graders in ghe same school.

Public schools split campuses. So you have elementary schools that serve only Pre-K to 5th grade, and then from 5th grade, the student switches to a different middle school for 6 to 8th grade and then they switch to a different school for high school.

So, it depends. If you utilize Catholic schools, unless there is a reason to switch, you only need to switch once, when you graduate 8th grade. But if you utilize public schooling, you will need to switch twice, when you graduate 5th grade and when you graduate 8th grade.

[-]

RobThree03@reddit

Three is common. Four is not unusual.

I went to school in Texas, Illinois, and Florida. All had K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 schools. When I graduated I thought that was the only way schools could be arranged, notwithstanding far rural small towns where K-12 would be in a single school because there weren’t enough children near enough to allow a “normal” arrangement.

When I had kids and we lived in Mass they had K-2, 3-6, 7-9 and 10-12.

In Connecticut where I now live there is a K-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12.

[-]

Aggravating_Anybody@reddit

Here’s the breakdown where I live in the US:

Preschool - 3&4 years old (no “grades” yet)

Elementary School - kindergarten through fifth grade.

Middle school - sixth through eighth grade.

High school - ninth through twelfth grade.

[-]

Gymnastkatieg@reddit

Middle school and junior high are usually synonyms. Older people say junior high and younger people say middle school

[-]

Intelligent-Count-84@reddit

They’ve since combined the middle and high schools I went to, so now they have a middle school (6-8) and a high school (9-12) operating in the same building.

[-]

ShylokVakarian@reddit

Okay, so we have:

Primary School, K-2
Elementary School, 3-5
Middle School/"Junior High", 6-8
High School, 9-12

[-]

LovelyGh0ul@reddit

It depends on the school. I went to elementary (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12).

However, the middle school I went to was a K-8 because we moved to a small area in the school district between my 5th and 6th grade years.

The school district my daughter was in had the same groupings, but our elementary school also offers public preschool, so it was Pre-K through 5th grade. Private preschools are common.

[-]

Cinisajoy2@reddit

Sometimes. One town here has a school for 9th grade only.

[-]

Afromolukker_98@reddit

In my case I did.

Preschool (Seperate School before ahe 5, more so like a daycare)

Then Kindergarten-5th grade (Elementary School, this is usually one school, but due to shifts in my education and new schools built I was in 3 different schools)

Then 6th-8th grade (Middle School)

Then 9th-12th grade (Highscool)

Then Undergrad (4 years)

Then Graduate (2 years Master's program)

I think the first 4 is pretty common across USA

[-]

bestem@reddit

I went to two. My grade school was preschool through 8th grade (10 years), and then high school was 9th through 12th.

Most kids going to public schools go to 3. One for kindergarten through 5th or 6th, one for 6th or 7th through 8th or 9th, and one for high school.

[-]

ScarletDarkstar@reddit

If you consider preschool a school, or count college. Preschool is not mandatory, 3 - 4 years old Kindergarten usually 5 yrs old by the start of the semester. Elementary /Fundamental K- 5

Middle school is parallel to junior high, but where u went Middle was 6th to 8th, and places with Jr high left 6th grade in Elementary school and Jr high was 7th and 8th.

High school is 9-12, freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. If you go to college this repeats for a 4 year degree.

[-]

cfcblue26@reddit

I had all four. I don't know why everyone is saying middle and junior are the same thing. That's not the case everywhere.

[-]

PickleManAtl@reddit

When and where I grew up, we went to elementary school from grades 1 through 6, Junior high school from grades 7 through 9, and high school from 10 through 12. Before any of that we went to kindergarten at the age of 5 for 1 year which was a much more informal setting before starting elementary school.

In a lot of places now, even back where I grew up, high school is now grades 9 through 12.

[-]

mckenzie_keith@reddit

There is a lot of variation. I went to a k-8 school, then high school. So only two schools.

Some kids go to elementary, junior high and high, so that is 3 schools. I don't think very many kids go to 4 schools (unless they transfer, of course).

And some schools are combined like the one I went to which covered kindergarden through 8th grade.

PlainTrain@reddit

In my school district, kids go to one school for K-2, another for 3-5, a third for 6th, a fourth for 7th, a junior high for 8th and 9th, and finally high school. Rapidly growing school districts are interesting places.

[-]

smile_saurus@reddit

Gen X here. "Elementary School" was Kindergarten - Grade 5. "Middle School" (which was referred to as "Junior High" when my Baby Boomer parents were young) = Grade 6 - Grade 8. "High School" = Grade 9 - Grade 12.

My Middle School was one big building; half was Middle School and the other half was Elementary School. They each had separate gymnasiums and cafeterias etc.

We never said "Grade 4" we would say "Fourth Grade." Then, in High School: Grade 9 students were called Freshmen, 10 were called Sophmores, 11 were called Juniors and 12 were called Seniors.

In my area, they put Grade 8 / Eighth Graders into High School within the past couple of years.

High school: 9th-12th grade. (Some schools may have a separate freshman building for 9th graders, but that's typically adjacent to the main school, and considered part of the high school for all intents and purposes).

OR

Elementary: Kindergarten - 6th

Junior High: 7th-9th

High school: 10th-12th.

Sometimes (especially in small towns) you may have some or all of the schools combined into one. E.g. an elementary and middle school combined, or a middle school and high school combined into one building.

[-]

Ahpla@reddit

I went to head start for 2 years, k-5, 6-8, then 9-12. So 4 different schools.

The district I live in now has 5 different schools. Early childhood is pre k to kindergarten. Lower elementary is grades 1-3, upper elementary is grades 4-6, middle is grades 7-8, and high schools is 9-12.

[-]

Sea-Astronomer-6600@reddit

My kids went to pre-k (up to 5 years old), elementary (k-2), upper elementary (3-5), middle school (6-8) and high school (9-12). Every district within the US does theirs differently though and it’s dependent upon the size of the district usually.

[-]

MundaneHuckleberry58@reddit

No. It’s elementary, then middle OR junior high (whichever your district has), then high school.

[-]

DadPuncher69@reddit

In my hometown when I was a kid we had two elementary schools (K-2, 3-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12). Now they also have a school that is just for Kindergarten and a junior high that's for grades 8-9.

[-]

Boston_Brand1967@reddit

Depends where ya live.

I went to elementary, middle, and high school. I have Seen jr.highs and sr.highs too.

Some charter, community, and private schools are K-12.

That being said, most probably go to 3 different levels.

I have a peer who went to Public school in a really rural part of Montana. She stayed in 1 building from 1st to 12th grade. Less than 100 kids in the whole building.

A typical student will go to 3: elementary, middle school or junior high, and high school.

My daughter goes to a secondary school that is 6-12. I went to a school that was K-8. Some schools are K-12. It depends on the district, the needs of the area, and the type of school (charter, alternative, etc.).

[-]

janebleyre@reddit

Not necessarily. We would refer to all of that as just “school” as well, but those indicate different levels. Most Americans attend pre-school at age 3-4 which tends to be a separate institution, but also not really formal education so it doesn’t really count.

[-]

Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit

pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, college

I should have attended three, but we moved so I went to four: elementary, intermediate, middle, high (if we hadn’t moved when I was in 7th grade I would have stayed in intermediate until high school in 9th).

middle school is the same as junior high