HOUSTON -- A private, nonprofit Houston-area school is focusing on students with special needs in an effort to get them back in the mainstream, KPRC Local 2, Your Education Station, reported Tuesday.

For Evan Bayer, every day in the classroom used to be a struggle.

"The students would be way ahead of me, and I couldn't even understand what the teacher was talking about," he said.

But Bayer now attends the Crossroads School, located on the 5800 block of Dolores.

The school specializes in children with learning difficulties, such as attention deficit disorder and dyslexia. Some are gifted and talented. All struggle in a traditional classroom.

Student Johanna Mather explained that before coming to Crossroads, "My math was very off. I was very emotional, and I also had some language problems. But, all those are coming together."

The Crossroads School emphasizes individualized learning.

There are no more than eight students to a teacher, so the lesson is presented to the class as a whole and then tailored to each student's needs.

Director Gila Arnoni said, "Given the right methods of teaching for them individually, (the students) not only blossom, but they become our community leaders."

The students' progress can be measured as much in their grades as their self-confidence.

Parent Marian Thomas said her son has since "learned some responsibility. He will come home and do his homework, and then be done when we get home and give us the folder and we don't have to ask."

Classes span kindergarten through eighth grade, plus transitional ninth and tenth grades.

Crossroads works to mainstream students in both the academic arena and in life.

For more information, visit www.crossroadsschoolhouston.org.