For a couple of years, my kids attended a suburban school district where they teach Spanish from kindergarten on. In their more financially challenged urban district, they don't teach it until junior high. High school offers three languages.
On the other hand, I can see where, geographically, learning a foreign language would be of more immediate practical value to Europeans. I also have seen, say, German and Italian people interacting in English, so I can understand why it would be good to learn English early.