Tracing the nature of critical engagement and agency among youth in a participatory action research (PAR) collective, the study attends to the manner in which critical engagement and agency developed over time for the youth researchers. The focus of the project was to conduct a survey among ninth grade students concerning their early high school experience, using participatory methods in data collection, analysis, and reporting back. Data collection included participant observation and review of footage of project activities, field notes, and the youth researchers' auto-ethnographic texts and creative products. Access to the ninth grade students was clearly achieved, and they were informed first among many stakeholders about the results of the survey; however, the classroom setting proved challenging in terms of facilitating critical engagement, compromising youth researchers' sense of agency. The university setting served as a site conducive to inquiry and agency for the youth.