More and more, private for-profit and non-profit organizations are involved in schools. No longer limited to support services like transportation and food services, companies are providing tutoring, directing classroom instruction and managing public and charter schools. School reform has raised the stakes for schools and students, asking for greater accountability and companies are directly involved in raising achievement and taking the place of the traditional school. Private companies are not always required to make their books and their studies available to the public. This is a challenge to education reporters who help make school decision making transparent to the public. This report is a guide for beat reporters in covering this emerging and growing phenomena.