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they're usually divided up as K-5, 6-8, 9-12. K-5 is usually called "elementary school", 6-8 is usually called "middle school", but used to be called "junior high school", or just "junior high" for short, and 9-12 is usually called "high school". Some places divide it up differently, usually for private schools and very small school districts, just because it doesn't make sense to have three divisions for the small numbers of students that they have.

I don't mean to extend the tangent, but I wonder how common the various divisions are. For example, my entire county uses a similar system, except that middle school is grades 7 and 8 only, with 6th being part of elementary school. And the last part of your statement doesn't apply, because Fairfax County in Virginia is a very large county with a very high population.
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Matt