[originaltext] Public schools in the United States are under the control of

Public schools in the United States are under the control of the individual states. Sometimes the state hands its control over to a smaller area, a county or city.
    Most Americans start school at the age of five when they enter kindergarten. Children do not really study at this time. They only attend for half the day and learn what school is like.
    Children attend elementary school for the next six years. They ]earn to read and write and work with numbers. They also study the world and its people.
    After they leave elementary school, children go to junior high school for three years and senior high school for another three years. This is called secondary education.  In some places the children go to elementary school for eight years and high school for four. At any rate, elementary and secondary education together take twelve years to complete, excluding kindergarten.