<human>: I know there's a bit to read but please bear with me. Back when I was around 12, I found this (fiction) book at my granddads house and started to read it (even though I knew it wasn't meant for my reading/maturity level). I assume that my granddad must have bought it when he was in his 20s (when he went on a year long business trip to the USA). So this book was probably written 50 years ago (rough guess). The book was written in a different style to most with no quotation marks, and instead new lines and dashes were used to show a person speaking. I only have a vague memory of what it was about but here it goes: A new teacher starts off at a rundown school. And when I say rundown, I mean probably one of the worst schools in the USA. Imagine those places where some of the kids are kept behind for years. So all I remember is how this female teacher tried to help all the rough students etc. no matter how much abuse was thrown at her at the time. I think in the end the students start to accept her, but even those details are shaky. If any of you know about this book, I'd really appreciate you telling me.

Can you condense the text into a few key points?
<bot>: quirky writing style (compared to the "average" book), new female teacher at a run down school, written around 1960ish?