American schools begin in September after a long summer holiday(暑假). There are 2 terms in a school year; the first term is from September to January, and the second term is from February to June. Most American children begin to go to school when they are 5 years old. Most children are 17 or 18 years old when they finish high school.
High school students take only 5 or 6 subjects each term, they usually go to the same classes every day, and they have homework for every class. After class, they do a lot of interesting things.
After high school, many students go to colleges, they usually have to pay a lot of money. So many college students work after class to get money for their studies.