COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mandarin Chinese is getting a place in some Ohio elementary schools.

The state is receiving nearly $470,000 in federal funding for Chinese language programs in kindergarten through sixth grade. The Ohio Department of Education will contribute an additional $535,554 for the three-year program, a department news release said.

The state expects about 2,000 elementary school students will learn Chinese in the 2008-2009 school year in several school districts. Teachers will receive training in the summer to implement the curriculum.

School districts that have been chosen for the pilot project include the Columbus Public Schools, Shaker Heights City Schools near Cleveland and the Belpre City Schools in southeast Ohio. School districts in northeast Ohio’s Chagrin Falls and Beavercreek and Tipp City, both near Dayton, also were chosen.