The purpose of this study was to explore the roles, perspectives, and actions of teachers and students for first-time-detained juvenile delinquents by examining a reading intervention for a student. Using an action research methodology, the reading intervention was explored within the broader context of the history and operations of the juvenile detention center in the United States of America. There is a description of education in a short-term, small juvenile detention center, which has not been clearly defined in previous research. Test scores, observations, and review of a student's assignments were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the reading intervention. The situation was further broken down by roles assumed for each participant. The conclusion was action research improved a student's results and aided in examining educational practices. Four recommendations were offered to improve practices: iterative processes, heuristic challenge, positionality, and pragmatic rationality. A truncated methodology gives practitioners a plan to implement action research.