Now, because of a $1 million matching grant from the O'Connor Hewitt Foundation, he's getting a multi-million dollar building named after him.
"What, are y'all kidding?" Pozzi said. A low-key, peaceful man, he gets the animated when he remembers getting the news.
"As a teacher, your former students are your legacy. Everybody has that, but to get a building named after you is an even greater honor."
The new building, ironically, will hold everything but math classes. It's needed to help fine arts programs like band, theater and the journalism classes, said school president William McArdle, and will sit at the corner of Red River and DeLeon streets.
"Although education is not about bricks and mortar -- it's about the people and the institution -- there does come a time when technology and bricks and mortar need to be addressed and become a part of that equation that leads to success," McArdle said.
Theater students now use a non-air-conditioned building built in the 1940s to practice and journalism students need room for computers.
"These are absolute needs for the school. Not wants," McArdle said.
The school's already raised about $2.6 million to go toward its $6.5 million fundraising campaign. About $1.8 million of the funds were already spent this school year to upgrade the O'Connor and Welder halls, technology and the cafeteria.
The grant will match the next $1 million of donations, but before the grant was given, Robert Hewitt Jr., vice-president of the foundation, requested one thing: the building should be named after his most memorable teacher.
"What I remember about David is, I guess, he was pretty no nonsense," he said. "Not a stern man, certainly, but he was there to enlighten his students, and I think he's very accomplished at that."
Hewitt had Pozzi for a ninth-grade algebra class and his legacy has stayed with him every since.
"I kind of considered myself a bit of a nerd, and it was heartening and refreshing to see a teacher who wasn't afraid to stand up for the power of learning," he said. "He's an excellent teacher and no other teacher at that school deserves to be honored in that way more than him."
For Pozzi, teaching is an act of faith. He started teaching as a 21-year-old member of the Brothers of Mary, a Catholic men's order. "It's the basis for it," he said. "It's not about math or whatever. It's about helping them as persons."
Pozzi's taught every math class the school has offered and all but one of its science classes. When he was getting his master's degree, he added physics classes to his course load because the school needed a physics teacher. He was a common chaperone for school dances and even drove school buses to football games. These days, he's semi-retired, but still takes on a calculus class to keep him around students.
"They're fun, and I guess that's why I resisted the pull to get involved with administration because I didn't want to give up the classroom," he said.
He has no magical method to longtime teaching success. It comes down to inspiring students to have a good work ethic.
"Basically, the trick is to get them to work at it," he said.
"You're just there to help them learn and if you can get them to work at it, you'll be all right."
