It was a magical evening of red carpets, music, dining and dancing for the young ladies of PS 169 and their escorts. Each of the couples — 75 beautifully dressed young girls, in grades 2 through 5, and their fathers, uncles, stepfathers or grandfathers — was formally announced as they stepped into the brightly decorated cafeteria of the school in the Baychester section of the Bronx for the inaugural Father-Daughter Dance on Feb. 26. While the girls could have danced all night, Sherwyn Lovell, the PTA vice president and chair of the Men’s Council, admitted that not all the escorts were up to the challenge. “The dance was such a success that there is no way we would not do this again,” he said. Five years ago, Lovell was among a group of fathers who dropped their children off every morning and stayed in front of the school to chat. The PTA president named them “the fellows in the front” and soon corralled them into becoming active in school activities and issues. They formed a Men’s Council to get fathers of PS 169 students more involved in their children’s education. Lovell said the UFT’s January symposium Men in Education: A Call to Action “blew my mind and became a propeller for me to make our work here at PS 169 a success.” School social worker Tanya Arnold, the MC for the evening, called the event “beautiful to see.” She stressed the important role that father figures play in building children’s self-esteem and showing them the way to become strong adults.