<human>: Condense the text into a few key points

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.
<bot>: quirky writing style (compared to the "average" book), new female teacher at a run down school, written around 1960ish?